Modern financial services have penetrated even the most remote areas in China. Eleven financial institutions now offer services in Tibet, where the average altitude exceeds four thousand meters.

Among them, the Agricultural Bank of China, which has been in operation there for 20 years, has played a crucial role, especially in rural Tibet.

Today, in the first of our three-part special series on financial services in the region, our reporter Hu Yinan takes a look at how rural Tibetans have benefited from the bank.

Twenty years. It's been a long time since Migmar Wangdu joined the ABC's Tibet Branch.

The 56-year-old still recalls when the Chinese central bank transferred its staff -- including himself -- to help set up the ABC's Tibet Branch in 1995. Nobody had any idea how to run a commercial bank. But even then, the new financial entity shouldered a major responsibility.

"Before our Tibet branch was set up, there were many rural credit cooperatives in Tibet's farming and pastoring areas, which were managed by the PBOC. When the ABC's Tibet Branch was established in 1995, those cooperatives all became grassroots outlets of the ABC. That naturally meant we ought to be responsible for financial services in rural Tibet," said Migmar Wangdu, President of Tibet branch, ABC.

The branch has been doing just that. The majority of its resources have been allocated to counties, towns, and rural areas in this vast region, where scarcities of basic necessities such as roads, power and water continue to loom large.

The number of sub-branches and outlets stands at 511. That's more than three-quarters of all the financial institutions in Tibet. The branch's work is widely acknowledged among rural Tibetans.

Karma Choesang is one of them. The 48-year-old lives roughly 17-hundred kilometers northwest of the regional capital Lhasa, and runs a small shop, teahouse and hostel.

When he ran into financing troubles in 2006 due to a lack of collateral and complex paperwork, the local ABC staff approached him on his doorstep -- which is 185 kilometers from the nearest town -- and helped him apply.

He received his first loan in just two days.

"As my business grew, so did the ABC's trust in me. My credit rating was upgraded, and I'm now able to apply for loans in the amount of hundreds of thousands of yuan. That has helped my business flourish," he said.

Karma Choesang's business pulled in 300-thousand yuan altogether last year -- making his family one of the wealthiest in town -- and he says he has the ABC to thank.

Many rural Tibetans share similar experiences. That's as the ABC Tibet Branch's micro credit loans cover more than 90 percent of all rural Tibetan families.

But this comes with a cost for the commercial bank. Many of its sub-branches across rural Tibet operate at a loss.

Migmar Wangdu says, though, that the Branch will not back down from giving more and better services to Tibetan farmers and herdsmen.

"In Tibet, we ought to be concerned about both our own interests and social responsibility. When the two run into conflict, we prioritize social responsibility over our own interests," he said.

More banks have opened in Tibet in recent years. That's as the government expands its financial support for the autonomous region, which turns 50 in September. The ABC says it welcomes the challenges, and will strive to consistently meet local expectations.

Editor: Lucia Su