Xi surprises herders with reply to letter
Print Edition
Earlier this month, Yangzom and her sister wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping about their experiences in protecting the border area and the development of their township over the years. To their surprise, they received a reply from him.
In the letter delivered on Saturday, Xi encouraged the sisters, who belong to a herding family, to set down roots in the border area, guard the Chinese territory and develop their hometown.
He acknowledged their family’s efforts to protect the territory, and thanked them for their loyalty and contributions.
“Making ourselves heard has reaffirmed our determination to continue safeguarding the border territory from our hometown,” said Yangzom, 55, from the Yumai Township of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Yumai is China’s smallest town, with only nine families and a population of 32. Located on the foothills of the Himalayas near the border with India, Yumai is about 200 kilometers from the county seat of Lhunze.
Winter in Yumai lasts more than six months a year, and the town is isolated by the weather from November to June.
When Tibet experienced rapid economic development in the early 1990s, most families left Yumai to seek a better life. Yangzom’s family was the sole remaining family within an area of about 2,000 square kilometers.
Yangzom recalls that she and her sister cried about wanting to move, but their father refused.
“He said if we left as well, our hometown would be uninhabited and would be lost,” she said.
China has invested heavily in border construction, infrastructure projects and border subsidies that have improved residents’ livelihoods.
Yangzom’s family opened a grocery store for Buddhist pilgrims who walk all the way around the mountain.
Her family’s yearly income — from herding, grocery store revenue and government subsidies, which includes the border allowance and subsidy for grassland protection — now exceeds 100,000 yuan (US$15,075).
In 2011, a concrete road was paved into Yumai, the same year that the town was lifted above the poverty line. Wi-Fi is now available across the town, enabling family-run inns to accept mobile payments.
Dawa, the town’s party head, said the average per capita income reached 50,000 yuan last year, with government subsidies accounting for about 30 percent.
“Improved transport infrastructure has also raised incomes from herding, transport and small businesses. Our lives are getting better and better,” he said.
Dawa added that the government planned to relocate 47 households from nearby areas to the town, and spend 80 million yuan to upgrade its road, water and power supply infrastructure.
“A higher population will increase the level of human activity in the area, which will be helpful in safeguarding our territory,” he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
