Better infrastructure bestows good life to the people of Aba
Government projects transform far-flung autonomous prefecture and raise living standards
The Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Southwest China’s Sichuan province has undergone fundamental changes in recent years, with the government investing heavily in infrastructure and housing in order to raise the living standards of its people.
The 83,400-square-kilometer region is roughly the size of Austria, and is home to 920,000 residents across 13 counties and cities, among whom 530,000 are from the Tibetan ethnic group and 170,000 are Qiang.
For years, the people of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture have lived a nomadic lifestyle, herding yaks and living off the land. This has meant that infrastructure and permanent housing have been slow to develop.
Today however, following considerable government investment and cooperation with the people, the far-flung inland region east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has more than 10,000 kilometers of asphalt roads. Just several decades ago there were only dirt tracks.
The improved transport network has brought greater prosperity to Aba which is today served by two airports — Hongyuan Airport and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, and is set to be connected via the 573 km Chengdu-Lanzhou high-speed railway by 2020.
The general consensus among the Tibetan herdsmen who live in Aba, is that the transport infrastructure brings greater opportunities for better lives and opens a window for them to the outside world as well as making it easier for tourists to visit the area.
For generations many of the people living in Aba resided in tents made from yak pelts. From 2009, the government set about helping them move into more permanent accommodation with running water and modern facilities.
The government paid for between 20 to 30 percent of the construction costs for the housing depending on the financial situation of each family. The rest of the money was provided via five-year interest-free loans, with the average four-bedroom, twostory house costing 200,000 yuan ($31,600).
The majority of the families were able to pay off their loans within two or three years, many of them generating the money from tourism, selling yaks or raw materials used in herbal medicine.
So far, the settlement project in Aba has benefited 210,000 people from the Tibetan ethnic group. Before 2009, about 60,000 of them lived a nomadic lifestyle, while the other 150,000 lived in semi-permanent accommodation constructed using mud, wood and stone.
In the four years that followed the initiation of the project, the prefecture government helped the local people to found 608 new villages in 11 counties. The cost to the government was 2.9 billion yuan, while the local people paid 4.5 billion yuan.
The improved housing has not completely altered the lifestyles of the Tibetan ethnic group in the region.
They still graze their yaks in the pasture in summer and autumn, so the government has provided them with 41,500 canvas tents, which are more comfortable than the yak-hair variety, together with nine essential items for maintaining a basic lifestyle, including solar power storage batteries, stoves, folding beds, water containers and cream separators.
Lhakpa, a Tibetan herdsman in Hongyuan county, said he is very content with his well-decorated 200 sq m home that the government helped him to build several years ago.
“Fundamental changes have taken place in our living conditions,” he said.
To supplement his income, Lhakpa has converted five rooms into homestays for tourists, which has added tens of thousands of yuan to his family’s yearly income.
As well putting roofs over people’s heads, the Aba government has implemented compulsory 15-year education, providing subsidies for children in kindergarten and high school.
Lhakpa, a father of two, has benefited from the scheme.
“Education does not cost money. It is good for the future of our people,” he said.
Since the 1950s, the number of schools in Aba has increased from 245 to 676 today.
Sonam Tashi, Lhakpa’s father, 70, has stood witness to changes that have been made in Aba over the years.
“Food and clothes are no longer a headache-maker,” he said. “More importantly, it is very convenient to see a doctor now, and thanks to the medical insurance, the medical care is not a burden anymore.”
Statistics from local government show that Aba’s GDP rose from 24 million yuan in 1952 to 29.3 billion yuan last year, and that average rural income per head last year was 11,720 yuan, and 30,180 yuan for urban residents.
Apart from traditional agriculture and animal husbandry, tourism has developed into a robust economic engine and a source of income growth.
Statistics from the Aba government show that tourists from home and abroad made about 29 million trips to the prefecture last year, generating about 23.46 billion yuan in revenue.
Jin Dong, head of the poverty relief and immigration bureau of Aba, said the government is paying special attention to addressing seven livelihood issues for the shepherds — medical care, roads, electricity, water, education, employment and income growth.
In rural areas, access to medical facilities can be difficult. However, the Aba government has set out to ensure that it takes no more than one hour for any resident to reach one of the area’s 1,683 hospitals and clinics.
A spokesman for the government said that the Aba government would continue to build upon its infrastructure achievements.
Today, Aba has 13 public libraries, 14 cultural centers, nine museums, 221 township cultural stations and 1,353 village reading rooms.
Located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, Aba’s ecological protection is also of national importance.
The government has moved all mines out of the region, and has increased the forest coverage rate from 21.76 percent to 25.1 percent over the past 20 years. Currently, there are five natural reserves in Aba, covering a total area of 760,000 hectares.
Fundamental changes have taken place in our living conditions.”
Lhakpa,