Jiangsu's aiding-Tibet missions fruitful

Qin Xinguang, 42, from Jiangsu Province, is on a three-year aid mission to help with the urban planning development of Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet. [Photo: Chinaplus]

For decades, developed regions in China have been carrying out one-on-one aid missions in the country’s less-developed Tibet region.

Since 1994, Jiangsu Province, in east China, has been sending batches of personnel and allocated special funds to support the development of the plateau region.

Forty-two year old Qin Xinguang is a senior urban planner at the Nanjing-based Jiangsu Institute of Urban Planning and Design. 

In July 2016, he joined a three-year aid mission to help with the urban planning development of Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet. 

On the mission, Qin works as the chief planner of the Lhasa Urban-Rural Planning Bureau, responsible for the rural planning in the plateau city and the technical training of the bureau staff.

When I met him in Lhasa one August day, Qin was attending a city government meeting to discuss how to develop a plot of land along the Lhasa River. 

Officials from various city government agencies presented their proposals and after that, Qin gave his opinions and advice.

The middle-aged man told me that he may attend several of this kind of meetings in one day during his one-year-plus stay in Lhasa.

“I’m on an aid mission in Lhasa contributing my expertise to gradually improve the urban planning and development of the city. This is a very important task for me.”

As well as the daily managerial work in Lhasa, Qin has arranged for three batches of urban planning personnel from Lhasa to travel to different cities in Jiangsu Province to learn the latest urban planning management skills and techniques.

Qin says his work is just part of the overall aid missions conducted by Jiangsu Province in Tibet. 

“In fact, I work as part of a team. My colleagues back in Jiangsu province helped me liaise with various government agencies here in Lhasa so that I could finish my job.”

Looking forward to his remaining two years in Lhasa, Qin says he hopes he can contribute more to the cultural preservation and urban development of the city. 

“Working and living in the plateau city of Lhasa with its rich history and culture, I have learned that its old town is well preserved. Many of its cultural heritage sites are restored and made good use of. 

“I hope this city can continue its work to preserve its heritage, while pursuing urban development.”

Qin’s work in Lhasa forms just a tiny part of Jiangsu Province’s assistance in Tibet, which forms part of the decades-long overall aid efforts coordinated by the Chinese central government. 

In 1994, the central government decided to assign cities and provinces in developed regions with specific projects to help Tibet with its economic and social development.

Since then, Jiangsu has helped set up a number of fruit orchards and other agricultural product processing facilities to boost the local Tibetan economy. 

Jiangsu Province has also invested more than two billion yuan in infrastructure, health care, education and transport in Tibet.