The road built in the fifth aid-Tibet program in Sangri [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Sangri County, located in Lhoka Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), is the counterpart of aid-Tibet program for Yue Yang city, Hunan Province. Yueyang has sent totally 38 cadres， invested over 70 million yuan (11,228,000 $) and carried out more than 30 supporting-Tibet projects since the year 1995. The changes over the past 17 years are breathtaking.

Pan Hongjun is one of the sixth batch of cadres from the aid-Tibet program. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Pan Hongjun is the current office director in the county's Party committee and one of the cadres sent in the sixth batch. According to him, Yueyang city sends cadres to support Tibet every three years. So far they have helped to construct many infructructures including the Iron Bridge of Yarlung Tsangpo River, the county's roads, Yueyang Hotel, the CPC's administration building, and a tap water treatment plant, and carried out a economic fruit trees' planting project.

Their notions such as "enrich the county with industry, strengthen it with projects, stabilize it with agriculture, and prosper it with advanced thought" and the idea of "develop Sangri scientifically" have fulfilled many wishes of the people and echoes as well with the scientific development principle.

Liu Xiaoping, the local cadre who came to Sangri in 2006, is the right witness to all these groundbreaking changes.

The aid-Tibet program stimulates local economic development

According to Pan Hongjun, the aid-Tibet program had made Sangri the first one in Lhoka Prefecture and the fourth one in the whole autonomous region to achieve tax revenue of above 0.1 bln yuan.

In 2010, Sangri's tax revenue was 42 mln yuan. In 2011, its GDP reached 550 mln yuan with tax revenue of 100.68 mln. In October this year, the tax revenue broke 130mln yuan, tripling that in 2010.

"Our people are living a rich and cozy life now," said Pan.

In recent years, the County government has used the second industry to drive agriculture with a fund investment of over 10 mln yuan. Nowadays, the county will take an annually 8 to 10 mln yuan from the financial budget to cover social welfare including agricultural machinery allowance, pastoral allowance, and forestry allowance. Sangri County also becomes one of the ten counties of good social security system.

Liu Xiaoping, the deputy director in the Party's committee office in Sangri, and a local cadre [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Aid-Tibet program brings in new concepts

Sangri County used to focus on the second industry, but now it is balancing the agricultural industry by nurturing new economic growth drives in agricultural and pastoral industries, such as the 3 mln project of garden economy, which includes cultivating economic forestry, walnut trees, grapes, peppers, chicken and pig breeding farms. And has helped to increase the farmers and herdsmen's income.

Liu said, the county would distribute to each household 5 or 6 Tibetan chicks at 5 yuan, which is one third of the marketing price, and then buy them back as grown-up chickens at a much higher price. In 2011, they built a walnut economic tree plantation base, adopting the operation approach of combing corporation and farmers, i.e. the corporation provides technology to direct the farmers and when the walnuts grow up the company will buy the fruit and promote marketing sales massively. It is now nursing the idea of constructing walnut-processing industries to produce walnut oil and suger etc.

Dekyi and Sonam Tsering are both beneficiaries from the "garden economy" project. Their income has been raised by 2,000 yuan respectively.

In 2010, the Sangri people's annual income was 4,100 yuan per person; while by the end of 2011, it reached 5,700 yuan; and yet, this year it breaks 6000 yuan.

In uplifting the livelihood, 60% effort of the aid-Tibet program is channeled to rural and pastoral areas, which abides by the principle of combining "blood transfusion" with "blood forming".

"Only by overcoming the habit of waiting for, depending on and asking for exterior help can we develop from the root," said Liu Xiaoping, "Capital is indeed important, but concept is more critical."

The Party's administration building constructed in the fourth aid-Tibet program in Sangri [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Aid-Tibet brings local management to a new level
According to Pan Hongjun, Sangri County pays attention to the construction of village party organization. It once send 42 village party secretaries, to Huaxi Village(China's richest village), villages in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and other cities to learn about their experience on new village construction and industry development patterns.

The party secretaries were inspired. They came back to their villages and began to develop industries of their own characteristics.

Aid Tibet cadres are careful and willing to learn, and they always have a clear vision of the county's economy trend, which has influenced their Tibetan counterparts a lot, according to Liu Xiaoping.

"The aid Tibet cadres never trivialize their mission and always adhere to team work. They will consult before making a decision. Be it the slightest work such as spotting a toilet, or planning a layout of the county."Liu added.

Aid Tibet takes intellect as a priority

Chinese Teachers' Day is a very big day in Sangri County. Every Sep 10th, local government will allocate 100,000 Yuan as a reward for education. Farmers who are supportative to education, such as showing respect to the teachers, and keeping sending their children to school, and teachers who treat their students well and have a high teaching quality will be rewarded.

Under such good system, education in Sangri proves to be fruitful. In 2012, nine students were admitted by inland Tibetan schools, which rewrite the education history of Sangri.

In addition, Sangri County encourages farmers to become better off through diligent work. Every year from 2010, awarding ceremonies would be held to honor those who start their own business, show respect to knowledge, offer job opportunities, and contribute to other people's well beings.

According to Sangri newspaper, among the Aid Tibet group, there are 3 health workers.

Liu Fucheng, health director of Sangri County, an aid Tibet member, sheared his experiences working here.

"The sanitary condition was backward when I came here. 22 village clinics didn't have their own doctors."  Liu recalled.

Afterwards, Liu came up with a project to recruit health workers for every village and established training courses on health care. 

Now, an overall health care system has been established covering the whole county.

Dorje, a Tibetan doctor, expressed his gratitude to the health care workers and said that he learnt advanced medical techniques from them.

The aid Tibet group insisted that it is better to teach people how to fish instead of simply offering them fish. They think that Intellect support plays a more important role in the further development of Tibet.