Better the living conditions on the roof of the world in Tibet

A group of elderly people in Cono County bask in the sun in the seniors’ home in Cona County of the Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

For many people, the mention of the Tibet Autonomous Region will evoke images of famous scenic spots like Mount Chomolungma and Lake Namtso. But Tibet, which is on the world's highest and largest plateau region, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has a wide range of scenery, from mountains to valleys, glaciers to the Gobi Desert. The region has an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, earning it the nickname "the roof of the world." Its annual temperature is around eight degrees Celsius, which is 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit. But while this might well add to the region's glamour in tourists' eyes, the harsh environment undoubtedly poses severe challenges to local people's lives.

Hello and welcome to Selfie, the show that gets to the heart of Chinese society, life and the economy. I'm Tony Reid. In this edition of Selfie, China Plus's Wang Lei takes us to the Tibet autonomous region. We'll hear stories about people's struggle for a better life through sand control and central heating and oxygen supply projects.

1.Sand prevention and control helps improve Tibetan people's lives

Anchor: Shannan Prefecture, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is the birthplace of an ancient Tibetan civilization, which was home to the region's first King, first palace, first piece of farmland, first monastery and first religious script. But located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, Shannan has more than 450 thousand-mu, or 30 thousand-hectares, of sandy land. Every year, this area is flooded for more than two months during summer and autumn, and extremely cold and windy in the winter and spring. The harsh environment has severely restricted Shannan's economic development. To improve the natural conditions, the local government invited the Elion Resources Group, a company with rich experience in sand control, to come to Shannan to help improve the ecology. Wang Lei has more.

The sand control efforts supported by the Elion Resources Group has seen the initial results as a shelter forest has been formed in Shannan prefecture of Tibet. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Reporter: Before coming to Shannan Prefecture, the Elion Resources Group had accumulated thirty years' experience of controlling the sands in China's seventh largest desert, the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia. In 2013, the company became one of the Global Dryland Champions announced by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. After an agreement was signed with the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Elion came to Shannan in April 2017. Drawing on the experiences they gathered in Kubuqi, the researchers from the company used a new type of technology called the vapour method for afforestation in desert zones. Deputy General Manager of the company Mai Lasu says this method has successfully enhanced the survival rate of the trees, which is now more than 85%.

Mai Lasu says that in the past, people used spades to dig holes in deserts to plant trees. As the dry sand layer is so thick it keeps flowing into the holes, making it very difficult to plant trees. The survival rate was as low as 10%. After thirty years' efforts, Elion has developed a unique way of planting trees. They use a centrifugal pump to pump water from underground. The water pipe connects with a hollow steel pipe, which is used as an impact water pistol to drill holes in the desert using the pressure from the water pump. The hole can be as deep as one metre, yet the diameter is less than five centimeters.

Mai Lasu points out that along the two banks of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the riverbed will be exposed after the flood season. Once the wind blows and the sand dust flies up in the air, it will form a sandstorm along the river valley, resulting in a desert zone. He says the prevention and control of desertification and ecological recovery are longstanding projects. Only after five years will the initial results be seen. And only ten years later will people observe any significant change. Fifteen years later, the effects will basically be consolidated.

Mai Lasu firmly believes in the prospects of sand control in Shannan. He adds that their project is aimed at alleviating poverty through ecological protection. They will not only build a tree-planting area of 6000 mu, or 400 hectares, they will also build an economic forest of 1000 mu, 67 hectares, which mainly features walnut trees, apple trees, apricot trees, peach trees and spruce.

They have also carried out a project to level the land to plant 1000 mu of Chinese licorice root to help the local farmers and herdsmen lift themselves out of poverty.

According to Mai Lasu, the ecological projects have not only improved the living conditions for the locals, but also helped them get more income by doing sand control. As a result, the local people have become more and more enthusiastic about planting trees.

Tsering Dondrup is the party secretary for Tsethang township in Nedong District in Shannan Prefecture. He says that nowadays, once the people hear trees are needed to be planted, they will participate voluntarily without the need for checking on their work attendance. Sometimes, even before the officials arrive, locals have already planted trees for dozens of mu. He says people's enthusiasm can be put down to a system of forest rights that was implemented in 2017.

Seventy-two-year-old Dawa Gyaltsen is a forest ranger for the Yajiang Shelter Forest in Shannan. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Seventy-two-year-old Dawa Gyaltsen is a forest ranger for the Yajiang Shelter Forest in Shannan. He has been engaged in forest protection for forty years. His responsibility includes patrolling the forest, dispelling people who unlawfully fell trees, irrigating, pruning, and voluntarily planting trees.

Seventy-two-year-old Dawa Gyaltsen and his son, Dawa Ngodrup who is also a forest ranger patrol the forest in Shannan Prefecture. [Photo: China Plus/Gao Mengyu]

The elderly man's son, Dawa Ngodrup, says that at first his parents would quarrel over his father's job. His father would try to make his mother understand that although the job was not well-paid, he did love trees and it was his career. Under his father's influence, Dawa Ngodrup also became a forest ranger at the age of 27 after he retired from active military service. Now he has been doing the job for more than twenty years.

Deputy Head of Nedong District Zomba says nowadays every person plants at least ten trees a year in the district. Every year, people prune the trees and the branches can be sold as firewood to people in other districts. This helps increase local people's incomes while improving the environment.

Now the shelter forest in Shannan boasts more than 45 million trees, covering an area of more than 450 thousand mu, or 30 thousand hectares. The green corridor that is 160 kilometers' long and 1.8 kilometers' wide has not only improved the ecology but also increased people's incomes.

2. Supply central heating and oxygen to the border county in Tibet

Anchor: Cona County in Tibet has an average altitude of 4400 metres with an annual average temperature of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius or 30.92 in Fahrenheit. The lowest temperature recorded was minus 37 degrees Celsius, or minus 34.6 Fahrenheit. In one year, there are only around forty-two frost-free days. It's a typical border county in Tibet, and to make it more liveable, the government has implemented a central heating project which covers an area of 220 thousand square metres, enabling the indoor temperature to reach 20 to 26 degrees Celsius. In the meantime, to help solve the problem of oxygen deficiency on the plateau and increase people's work efficiency, the local government has carried out a trial oxygen supply project with a total investment of 90 million yuan, or 13 million US dollars, to build twenty-four oxygen supply base stations. As a result, the working and living conditions in schools, hospitals, enterprises, institutions, and seniors' homes have been significantly improved. Here is Wang Lei with more of the story.

Tashi Norbu, an auxiliary police officer in Cona County shows how the oxygen supply apparatus works in his house. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Reporter: Tashi Norbu is in his forties and has been working as an auxiliary police officer in Cona County for 28 years. He says the county is extremely cold. In the past people had to wear layers and layers of clothing if they went out, and down-padded coats even in summer. His house used to rely on coal stoves or burn cow dung for heating, but the temperature was difficult to maintain and the coal ashes were all over the house, which was very unhealthy. Changes have taken place since October 2017, when the local government started providing central heating on a trial basis from October to May every year. Tashi says the house has become warm and cozy.

Deputy Director Pu Wengang of the Reform and Development Commission of Cona County says that because of the arduous living conditions of cold and oxygen deficiency, some college graduates who have been assigned to work here can't stay long. They try all means to get transferred to other places or simply quit. To change the situation, the local government has made the supply of central heating an important project to boost people's livelihoods. In March 2016, the first phase of the geothermal heating supply project, for a total cost of 50 million yuan, or 7.5 million US dollars, went into operation in the county. It was completed and on trial at the end of October in the same year. Pu Wengang explains that the rich geothermal resources in Cona County have laid a solid foundation for the smooth operation of the central heating supply.

According to Pu Wengang, the heating supply in Cona County covers an area of 200 thousand square metres and the indoor temperature on average is kept between twenty to 26 degrees Celsius. More than 3200 people have benefited from this.

This is one of the water-source heat pumps used in the geothermal heat supply project in Cona County of the Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Fang Jin is an engineering project supervisor from the Tibet branch of Haihua Supervision, the company which has been in charge of the second phase of the geothermal supply for Cona County. Fang Jin says the heat supply they have adopted in the project is geothermal energy plus a water-source heat pump. Six water-source heat pumps were used in the first phase of the project while sixteen were used in the second phase.

In the meantime, lying on the southern end of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the roof of the world, Cona County has a typical plateau climate. With the increase of the elevation, the air density decreases. The oxygen content is merely 65% of that in the interior of the country. Guo Dequan is manager for the construction project of the central oxygen supply in Cona County. He says to solve the problem of oxygen deficiency, in May 2017, the county invested some 90 million yuan, or 13.6 million US dollars, to carry out the oxygen supply project. The project has seen the building of 24 base stations, which enable the central oxygen supply to go into 35 institutions in an area of 50 thousand square metres,along with a decentralized oxygen supply to more than a thousand households in an area of 30 thousand square metres.

Guo Dequan, manager for the construction project of the central oxygen supply in Cona County, checks the equipment. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Oxygen deficiency can have detrimental effects, like dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, nausea, a fast heartbeat and weakness in the limbs. In more severe cases, it might lead to difficulty in breathing, cardiac arrest, suffocation or even death. Guo Dequan says the central oxygen supply project has not only solved the health hazard caused by oxygen deficiency on the plateau, but also enhanced people's work efficiency. Since its trial operation in October 2017, the project has benefited people in hospitals, schools, enterprises, institutions, and seniors' homes.

The support centre for poor elderly people in Cona Country officially began operations in August 2015. There live some one hundred Tibetan senior people, with an average age of 68, who either have no children or have lost the ability to work. They are taken care of by ten nursing staff.

Sixty-four-year-old Tsamcho is delighted when she talks about the changes brought about by the heating and oxygen supply project to the seniors’ home in Cono County where she lives. [Photo: China Plus/Wang Lei]

Sixty-four-year-old Tsamcho has been living here for three years. She is delighted when she talks about the changes brought about by the heating and oxygen supply project.

Seventy-five year old Konchok Tsering has also lived in the centre for several years. He says the elderly live happily in this big family. They have Tsampa, Tibetan butter tea, and traditional Tibetan yogurt to choose as breakfast. Their lunch is four dishes and one soup with fruit and the staple food of one's own choice, and dinner is again Tibetan specialties such as Tibetan yogurt and steamed stuffed buns.

Inside the senior's home, one can find restrooms, radiant floor heating, oxygen supplies and all the other facilities that are needed. There is also a clinic, reading rooms, barber's and a chess and cards room. The elderly can study, do exercise or recreational activities according to their own interests. Those who have the labour capacity can plant potatoes, Chinese cabbage, green peppers, or pumpkins in the greenhouses. Konchok Tsering says he and the other elderly people are properly provided for and perfectly happy.

For more information, please click the audio above to find out more about the show and efforts to better the living conditions on the roof of the world in Tibet.