At an altitude of close to 3,700 meters, Lhasa, which sits on the Tibetan Plateau in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, is one of the highest cities in the world and will take your breath away.

Xizang is a province rich in diversity, spirituality, growth, development, and, in keeping with the rest of the country, equality for all its citizens.

Potala Palace symbolises Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration of Xizang. This 'palace in the sky' is a daily visiting place for thousands of pilgrims who make the high altitude walk to make offerings and prayers.

Jokhang Temple, another remarkable symbol of Tibetan Buddhism, was originally built more than 1,300 years ago by King Songsten Gampo to house the Jowo Mikyo Dorje, a statue of Akshobhya Buddha, brought by his Nepalese queen Bhrikuti. Another statue, the Jowo Shakyamuni, brought by his Tang Chinese queen Wencheng, is currently housed in the temple.

Together, Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple exemplify the rich history of Tibetan Buddhism in China.

Far from fading away, China’s growth and development have spurred on Tibetan culture, making it modern storytelling, and emerging cultural economies.

Contrary to the assertions made by some media outlets that the Tibetan way of life is on the verge of disappearing, that children are being forced to abandon their mother tongue, and that assimilation threatens a spiritual and traditional way of life, Xizang and its people are representative of inclusiveness and prosperity that celebrate centuries of tradition.

Xizang’s history: from slavery to peaceful liberation

Before its peaceful liberation in 1951, Xizang experienced the atrocities of what was a feudal serfdom, followed by imperialistic oppression.

Feudal serfdom violated human dignity, and serfs and slaves, who made up more than 95% of the total population, possessed nothing and were dependent on the elites in society in exchange for unconditionally obeying their orders and satisfying their demands.

Serf owners could trade, transfer, bestow, and exchange serfs and slaves as they pleased, and any defiance of this could result in torture.

After the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century, the United Kingdom twice invaded Xizang, threatening China's sovereignty and violating the local people’s basic rights.

In Beijing in 1951, the Central People's Government and the local government of Xizang signed the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Xizang on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Xizang. The agreement marked the peaceful liberation of the region, freeing Xizang from imperialist aggression and political and economic control. It effectively safeguarded the national sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of China, and created the necessary conditions for Xizang to progress and develop along with the rest of the country, laying firm foundations for the region's human rights cause in the process.

The strengthening of Xizang culture

In March this year, the Communist Party of China published a document titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," announcing that between 2021 and 2024, RMB473 million from the central government and the government of the Xizang Autonomous Region was earmarked for the protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage items on the national representative list in the region.

Tibetan oral tradition "Gesar", Tibetan Opera, and the Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa of Xizang have been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The white paper also added that courses on both standard Chinese and Tibetan are taught in primary and secondary schools in Xizang.

According to the document: “Since the peaceful liberation of Xizang in 1951, the CPC has united the people of all ethnic groups in the region and led them in an unremitting fight to institutionalise, respect, protect and expand human rights.

“Their rights to subsistence and development and all other basic rights have been guaranteed and are being progressively improved.”

Reform and opening up has helped not only unleash and develop productive forces across Xizang, but also provide a powerful driving force for human rights in the region.

As a result, Xizang has achieved synchronous development with the rest of the country, while at the same time making rapid progress in all aspects of its human rights.