Tibetan region makes money from tourism

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With jagged mountain ranges, lush forests and rare tropical plants, it’s no wonder Nyingchi was chosen by ancient Tibetans to settle almost 5,000 years ago.

Several millennia later, the prefecture is hoping to expose its primal beauty to the world as a global ecotourism wonderland.

Compared to other Tibetan regions, which mainly feature snow mountains and high mountain meadows, Nyingchi is a priceless valley area facing the Indian Ocean in the southeast, where warm Indian current moves upstream to meet the cold air from the north, allowing the co-existence of tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and frigid zones.

With an average altitude of 3,100 meters above sea level, much lower than the average of more than 4,000m in Tibet, and more green vegetation, Nyingchi has long been a recommended resort for first-time visitors looking to acclimate to the high-altitude plateau environment.

Scenic spots include the 7,780-meter-highNamjagbarvwa Peak, the 15th highest in the world awarded as the most beautiful peak in China by the Chinese National Geography magazine, and the 490-km-long precipitous Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.

Lunang Forest known as the “little Europe of China” in the township of Lunang, “the home of deities” in Tibetan, is a popular getaway for tourists.

Pasang Tsering, a local in Tashigang Village, said elsewhere in Tibet, people could barely make ends meet because of the adverse natural environment.

“But here in Lunang, our life is getting better just because of the nature,” he said.

Because of the thin air, barren land and cold weather, Tibetans have long struggled with their harsh living environment. Agriculture and stockbreeding, the traditional pillar industries of Tibet, are vulnerable to bad weather.

Villager Penpa from Tashigang said the tourism boom had greatly improved people’s living standards.

Last year he earned more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,100) renting tents and other services.

Other villagers run family inns and earn 900,000 yuan a year, he said.

Nyima Khamtrul, 28, a mother of two, who lives in Dongbacai Village of Lunang Township ran a small shop dealing in special local products and earned more than 30,000 yuan last year.

Selling Chinese alpine rush plants, which can only grow in unpolluted areas, Nyima Khamtrul said she is always reminding people not to litter.

“If the environment is damaged, there will be no way out for us. We must protect the ecology,” said she.

In 2015, Nyingchi posted a record high gross domestic product of 10.4 billion yuan, up 11 percent from the previous year.

The burgeoning tourism industry employs 5,000 people and there are 219 households running family inns.

Nyingchi also has some of the most beautiful peach flowers, with an annual festival held in March.

Fan Hui, who traveled from northeast China’s Liaoning Province to attend the festival last year, said the wild peach flowers are different from those on the Tibetan plains.

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