Dawa Gyaltsen, a resident of Galai village in Nyingchi, Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, said he and his fellow villagers feel more motivated than ever to seize opportunities brought by the country's continuous support for the development of the region and the improvement of people's lives.

The village has witnessed steady transformation since President Xi Jinping visited his house in July 2021, Dawa Gyaltsen said, noting tangible benefits such as wider roads, running tap water, uninterrupted power supply and a 5G mobile network.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the visit to Galai as part of his inspection tour in Xizang on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the region's peaceful liberation. Xi said the village epitomizes the economic and social achievements Xizang has made over the years.

On May 23, 1951, the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Xizang on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Xizang, also known as the 17-Article Agreement, was signed in Beijing, marking the peaceful liberation of Xizang and starting a completely new historic process for the advancement of society.

The peaceful liberation, along with the subsequent democratic reform in 1959, ended centuries-old feudal serfdom and theocracy in Xizang and established a completely new people's democracy, granting ordinary residents the power to control their own lives. The 75th anniversary of Xizang's peaceful liberation falls on Saturday.

"When President Xi visited my home, he asked for details about the quality of our lives and the dreams of my children. It was really heartwarming," recalled Dawa Gyaltsen.

Since Xi's visit five years ago, the city of Nyingchi has been developing at a faster pace, and improved tourism facilities are helping people in its villages to reap rich dividends. "My income is steadily increasing each year, because my transportation business is booming," Dawa Gyaltsen said.

Last year, the villager renovated the exterior wall of his house and this year, he purchased a new SUV. "Everybody's life here is getting better. Policies to support rural vitalization are benefiting all 33 households," he said.

As Galai welcomes a sea of pink and white peach blossoms every spring, making the mountains and the Tibetan-style houses look breathtakingly beautiful, visitors flock to the village from near and far. Buoyed by the surge in tourism, villagers have started better preserving the wild peach trees and planted more such trees in the mountains.

Driven by this "peach blossom economy", Galai's average per capita annual disposable income increased to 41,300 yuan ($6,072) in 2025, compared with less than 2,000 yuan in 2000. The collective income of the village of about 150 residents exceeded 8 million yuan last year.

To share their joy regarding the village's development, the residents of Galai wrote a letter to Xi, expressing their heartfelt gratitude, and Xi replied to the letter in June last year.

"Learning that the village has undergone new changes in recent years and villagers' incomes have increased, I feel happy for you," Xi wrote in his letter.

He also voiced hope that the villagers will, under the guidance of the Party's policies to develop border areas and improve people's lives, do an even better job in protecting the natural beauty of the plateau region, developing the village's tourism brand and contributing to building a prosperous and stable border area.

Dawa Gyaltsen said: "We cannot believe that President Xi replied to our letter. He deeply cares about the people of Xizang and their well-being."

Xi's connection with Xizang goes back a few decades. In 1998, as Fujian province's deputy Party chief, he first set foot in the region to oversee development support initiatives.

The poor and perilous road conditions left a deep impression on Xi. "At a narrow section, we had to get off the vehicle to move two logs of wood to get through. Officials heading to Medog county had to arrive there by horse," Xi recalled during his inspection tour in July 2021.

Medog, also in Nyingchi but tucked deep in the Himalayas, was once China's only county without highway access. Xi kept a close watch on its progress.

In March 2013, during his first participation in the annual session of the 12th National People's Congress after taking office as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Xi joined lawmakers from Xizang for a deliberation session.

He asked Padma Chodron, a lawmaker from Medog, whether the highway had opened. "When I told him it would open soon, he nodded with a smile," the lawmaker recalled.

The same year, the 117-kilometer Medog highway finally ended the county's isolation, revolutionizing travel, education and healthcare access.

Under Xi's leadership, Xizang's advancements in policy, infrastructure and economic vitality have significantly accelerated. Since 2012, Xi has presided over two key national symposiums on Xizang and established the Party's strategy for governing Xizang in the new era.

From 2012 to 2024, the region's road network nearly doubled to 120,000 kilometers, linking every town and village. By 2024, the urban and rural per capita disposable incomes increased 121-fold and 199-fold, respectively, compared with the levels in 1965. Also, the average life expectancy increased from 35.5 years at the time of peaceful liberation to 72.5 years in 2024.

In a historic first for both the Party and the country, Xi — as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the CMC — led a central delegation to regional capital Lhasa in August last year to attend events marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xizang autonomous region.

During the visit, Xi urged efforts to build a modern socialist new Xizang that is united, prosperous, civilized, harmonious and beautiful, calling on the region to advance high-quality development and continue to make solid efforts on the four main tasks of ensuring stability, facilitating development, protecting the ecological environment and strengthening the borders.

Dawa Gyaltsen, the Galai villager, said he is eager to let Xi know that his son, who told the president in 2021 that he wanted to become a professional athlete, has been admitted to Xizang Sports School, which boasts top training facilities. Also, his daughter, who wishes to become a doctor, will apply for medical school this year.

"The people of Xizang have moved from fetching buckets of water, using oil lamps and treading dirt paths to getting access to running tap water, using electric lights and walking on paved roads. The younger generation today has more opportunities to make their dreams come true and contribute to the development of the region. All this could only happen in a new Xizang," Dawa Gyaltsen said.

编辑：韩睿