BEIJING, March 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- March 28, 1959. That day, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the people of Xizang rose to launch their democratic reform. Centuries of feudal serfdom, a system that had bound them in servitude, ended forever.
One million serfs and slaves walked out of bondage and into freedom.
It was more than a political transformation. It was an emancipation for a region that had long been denied its dignity.
With the establishment of Xizang Autonomous Region in 1965, the region embarked on a new chapter.
"A nation may span great distances; it is where the people dwell." This sentence is a quote from The Book of Songs, China's first anthology of poems. It means that a nation's territory is wherever its people reside. The people form the bedrock, everything else rests upon them.
Chinese President Xi Jinping quoted the line in a speech at a gathering to honor national role models for ethnic unity and progress on September 27, 2019. He noted that since antiquity, the inhabitants of the Central Plains and frontiers have engaged in frequent interaction.
The people of Xizang and other ethnic groups in China have long embraced a shared vision of a unified homeland rooted in the wellbeing of its people. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the region has entered a period of steady development, one marked by meaningful change and tangible benefits for all ethnic groups living in the region.
As of late 2020, Xizang, together with the rest of the country, had eradicated extreme poverty and achieved the goal of moderate prosperity in all respects. Living standards in the region have since made a historic leap forward.
Over the past 60-plus years, Xizang's GDP has surged, growing from 327 million yuan ($132 million) in 1965 to around 303 billion yuan ($43.8 billion) in 2025. Infrastructure has seen immense improvement, with railways, aviation and highways integrating the region into the wider world. High-altitude power lines empower households across the region, while high-speed 5G Internet access is available on the summit of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak at a height of 8848.86 meters.
The systems for education, healthcare and social security in Xizang continue to improve. In 2012, the region took the national lead in providing a 15-year free education from the preschool stage to senior middle school. Average life expectancy rose from 35.5 years in 1951 to 72.5 years in 2025.
The people of all ethnic groups in Xizang feel more connected to one another and to the nation as a whole.
Freedom of religious belief is fully respected and protected.
Xizang's traditional culture is also flourishing. Time-honored treasures, from the heroic Epic of King Gesar and Tibetan opera to ancient medicine and the intricate art of Thangka painting, have found new life.
On March 12, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, adopted the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. This dedicated legislation provides a comprehensive legal framework for advancing related initiatives. Ethnic unity is felt everywhere, from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to families across Xizang, in the way people work together.
This is the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). This five-year period is a critical phase in laying a solid foundation for basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035.
Hopes are high that the people of Xizang will continue moving forward, working together with the rest of China toward a future that is united, prosperous and harmonious.
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SOURCE Beijing Review
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