Galai Village, Xizang -- a blossom-lined path to prosperity

BEIJING, July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on the "Peach Blossom Village" in Xizang Autonomous Region:

The picturesque village displayed in this video is Galai Village, located in the southeastern part of Xizang Autonomous Region, and is renowned as "Peach Blossom Village". Every March and April, the mountains are blanketed with swathes of peach blossoms, set against the sweeping fields of golden rapeseed flowers – a spectacle that resembles a true earthly paradise.

A far cry from today's idyllic scenery, several decades ago, Galai was still a little-known mountain village. Due to scarce farmland and pasture, villagers struggled even to make a living. Back then, villagers' livelihoods depended on the logging of the 500-mu-peach-forest (82 acres), which is home to more than 1,200 ancient peach trees. Consequently, the area's pristine natural ecosystem was inevitably damaged.

In 1998, a group of visitors happened upon the village, sparking the local people's idea of developing a tourism-based economy. However, the village at that time was far from an ideal state: rough stone walls enclosed the peach forest haphazardly; pigsties and cattle pens gave off unpleasant odors; and the whole village could accommodate very few tourists. By 2011, annual tourism revenue still totaled less than 50,000 yuan. Though the villagers wished to develop a peach blossom economy, turning that dream into reality was far from easy.

A turning point appeared in 2014. Guided by the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s paired-up assistance policy for Xizang, support teams from Guangdong Province flocked to Galai Village and began improving infrastructure around the peach orchard. They leveled roads, rebuilt the fieldstone walls, and constructed boardwalks, gazebos, public toilets, and an irrigation system that extends 1.7 km.

Galai Village eventually began to shine, attracting more and more tourists. During last year's peach blossom season alone, ticket sales brought in 3.7 million yuan in revenue.

The "blossom-lined road" has continued to widen. To diversify sources of income, Galai village built a fruit-picking orchard and a local transport team. Villager Dawa Gyaltsen began working in transportation since 2018. He says he now enjoys an income of around 100,000 yuan every year, in addition to the dividends he receives from ticket sales. According to him, life has never looked more promising.

Nyima Dorje was also born and raised in Galai Village. His parents used to carry baskets of peaches to town to sell, earning barely a dozen yuan per basket. The whole family lived in a pest-stricken bungalow where rainwater would seep through the rooftop. Today, with improved village infrastructure and steady progress in rural revitalization, Nyima Dorje's family moved into a newly-built Tibetan-style two-story home, fully equipped with running water, stable electricity supply and internet access.

The transformation of Galai Village is a microcosm of the social and economic progress in Xizang Autonomous Region over the past six decades, during which the people of Xizang have risen out of poverty; transportation infrastructure on the snow-capped plateaus has seen historic improvements; and many locals have enjoyed sustainable livelihoods and a better quality of life through ecological conservation efforts.

The changes in Galai Village also drew the attention of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wrote a letter to the villagers, expressing his delight at their improved lives.

A happier and more prosperous life blossomed with the peach trees, made possible by the policies of the CPC and the State to develop border areas and improve people's lives there, as well as by the diligence of the local villagers.

The road lined with peach blossoms has brought the outside world to Galai, and opened up a broad path towards common development.

China Mosaic

http://chinamosaic.china.com.cn/index.htm 

Galai Village, Xizang — a blossom-lined path to prosperity

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2025-07/10/content_117972164.shtml 

SOURCE China.org.cn