Tourists lifting villagers out of poverty
Print Edition
KELSANG Jampa never imagined that one day he would have a new house in a neat courtyard, as his family was one of the poorest in the village of Dagdong in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
Jampa moved into his new two-story house just before the Tibetan New Year, which was on February 27 this year. It was built on the site of his old home.
Dagdong has a population of 800, 180 of whom are registered as poor.
A year ago, Jampa and his five family members were living on an annual social security grant of 6,000 yuan (US$869.6).
Today, benefiting from China’s poverty-alleviation campaign, the village has begun to change.
In April last year, a tourism company was founded by the village and two local companies, supported by the local government.
New roads have been built, walls repainted and resort hotels and campsites added.
Along with the improved infrastructure, an increasing number of tourists have been visiting the ancient village.
Tourists camp in front of the ruins of the sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso’s manor, take pictures of a 900-year-old peach tree and visit the village’s ancient temples.
Since Tibetans prefer not to migrate to work, young villagers view the booming tourism as a good opportunity to make money in their hometown.
Jampa’s new house was part of a tourism project. Meanwhile, his son has a good job in transporting construction materials.
“My son will take his driving test soon. With a driving license, he can earn money via transportation. I will rent a room of my new house to a yogurt processing mill, which will bring me a monthly rent of 2,000 yuan,” Jampa said.
This year, the annual income of his family is expected to surpass 40,000 yuan.
“My name will eventually be included on the list of households casting off poverty,” Jampa said.
Another villager, 70-year-old Chonyi Dechen, said she never imagined her son would find a job in a local orchard.
Tourism has created jobs such as cleaners, security guards and waiters for villagers.
Statistics from the regional tourism development commission show that the region’s investment in tourism and tourism-related poverty alleviation projects totaled more than 600 million yuan in 2016, benefiting over 40,000 poor people in the region.
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