As the first bridge on the Radreng Tsangpo River, the Tsangshong iron bridge connects both sides of the river, making the villagers no longer fear the roaring water. [Photo/www.chinatibetnews.com]

Located in the Tanggo Township of northeast Lhundrup County of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, the Tsangshong Village is the first village that the Lhasa River encounters when flowing through Lhasa. It is also a village mainly based on animal husbandry. With a wide area, it has beautiful natural scenery.

Radreng Tsangpo River and Tsangshong Village by the riverside

The Radreng Tsangpo River gets its name from the famous Reting Monastery nearby.

The Radreng Tsangpo River runs through the Tsangshong Village for 32 kilometers. Along the riverbank, the pasture grows very well, and wild animals such as pheasants, white-lipped deer and yaks can be seen everywhere. The tents of herdsmen are scattered among the cypresses.

The history and development of Tsangshong Village

The Tsangshong Village was originally a township, but was merged with Jomdo Township and Tanggo Township into the present Tanggo Township in 1999, since then, it has become a village of the Tanggo Township, covering one third of the area. With an average elevation of over 4300 meters, the Tsangshong Village is mainly a mountainous area.

Tsangshong Village means "a village by the river" in Tibetan language. In the past, the villagers had to take the bull boat in summer and walked on the ice in winter to cross the river.

The eighty-year-old man Champa Rabgyel said, the villagers were always fear of the Radreng Tsangpo River in the past because the bull boat was easy to have accident in the river.

In order to resolve the transportation problem, the government invested 180,000 yuan (29286 U.S.dollars) to build the Tsangshong iron bridge in 1989. As the first bridge on the Radreng Tsangpo River, the Tsangshong iron bridge connects both sides of the river, making the villagers no longer fear the roaring water.

Ten years later, the government reinvested over 5 million yuan (about 813, 5000 U.S dollars) to build a 70-meter-wide Tsangshong cement bridge for heavy vehicles entering the village. Since then, the mineral resources in the mountains such as gypsum ores and lead zinc ores have been rationally exploited and transported out of the mountains continuously.

Nowadays, the whole village owns 16 pacers, 34 private cars and two to three motorbikes per family.

Nyima, the party branch secretary of the Tsangshong Village, which is located in the Tanggo Township of northeast Lhundrup County of Lhasa, is introducing the natural grotto in the village. [Photo/www.chinatibetnews.com]

Because of the abundant rain, the Tsangshong Village has a reputation of "paradise" with year-round green hills and clean water. The Tsangshong Village is always famous for high quality yak meat. The place is rich in cordyceps sinensis and high quality water resources. Local people say that the yaks are "eating cordyceps sinensis and drinking mineral water".

The breeding stock in the Tsangshong Village is 15,500 yaks throughout the year. In 2012, the marketing rate of fattened stock reached 30% and valued 10,000 yuan (1627 U.S. dollars) per head in average and made an income of nearly 10 million yuan (about 1.6 million U.S dollars).

The per capita cash income of the whole village reached 7679 yuan (about 1249 U.S. dollars), with an increase of 3340 yuan (about 543 U.S. dollars)

"I have sold 30 yaks and earned 300,000 yuan (48780 U.S.dollars). The demand exceeds supply in the yak market," said Chodrak, a local villager.

He has bought an auto truck with 400,000 yuan (65040 U.S. dollars) and a pick-up truck as his private car, and built him a new house covering an area of 250 square meters. The saving of selling yaks has helped him to improve his livelihood.

The Tsangshong Village is also Tibet's longevity village

In the Tsangshong Village, there are 29 elders above 80 years old. The oldest man is 91 years old.

Meanwhile there are 130 elders between 60 to 80 years old. Pollution-free environment provides the local villagers with favorable circumstances, and the government's policies improve their life conditions further. The medical conditions guarantee their living quality.