In her spacious yard, 86-year-old Dekyi from Bayi District, Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet, sits in the sun as she usually does after having lunch.

"I basically had nothing to eat when I was a child, no fruit, Kasai (a kind of fried pastry and a must for Tibetan New Year), or meat," Dekyi said.

"At that time, we even had to be careful when drinking the butter tea. We'd put a piece of butter on the edge of the cup, blow it to one side, then drink a little, so that the next time you could still taste a bit of the butter."

Now, there are 14 members across four generations in Dekyi's family. Because all her children work and she herself receives subsidies as an elderly person, she doesn't have to worry about things like food, and she has everything she needs especially to celebrate the holidays.

On the first day of the New Year, just as in the previous years, Dekyi went to fetch a bucket of water before dawn to wish for good luck throughout the year, her legs are particularly deft.

"The days are getting better and better, and my mind is more and more at ease," she said.

Editor: Tommy Tan.