Over the past 60 years, Suoxian County in Nagqu City, Tibet, located at the intersection of the northern Tibetan Plateau and the Hengduan Mountains in eastern Tibet, has undergone a magnificent transformation—from a vast plateau with melodious pastoral songs to a vibrant new city with thriving industries; from a remote place where all industries were waiting to be developed to a warm and happy home. Today, Suoxian County is unfolding a beautiful rural landscape of prosperous industries, ecologically livable environment, civilized customs, effective governance, and affluent life.
Rural revitalization begins with industry to lay a solid foundation.
Industry is the engine of rural revitalization, and Suoxian County has long since deeply embedded this concept into its development practices. At the artificial grassland planting base in Rongbu Town, the vast expanse of grassland is lush and vibrant. Who would have thought that this was once a land severely infested with rodents?
The photo shows the harvesting of highland barley at a grassroots supply and marketing cooperative in Gamei Township, Suoxian County.
In 2016, Rongbu Town in Suoxian County revitalized more than 4,000 mu of land severely affected by rodents, carried out experimental artificial grass planting, and built a forage base, making planting the "first workshop" of animal husbandry; in 2020, the project was expanded to more than 5,000 mu, and the benefits continued to improve.
"The harvested oat grass is sold by the town's Party committee and government. Every year, cash dividends and fodder are distributed to the 64 households involved in the labor contribution and to all 23 villages in the town," said Yuan Shiqing, the town mayor of Rongbu, highlighting the tangible benefits that local industrial development has brought to the people.
The picture shows the cultural square in Suoxian County.
To promote the upgrading of the entire traditional agricultural and animal husbandry industry chain, the Suoxian Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau has also innovated the "government-enterprise-research" cooperation model, joining hands with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and poverty alleviation development companies to invest 3.5 million yuan to create a modern planting system, giving new vitality to traditional industries.
In response to the challenges of high logistics costs and poor delivery times in Suoxian County, which is characterized by its vast territory, scattered villages, and complex logistics, the Suoxian Supply and Marketing Cooperative launched a multi-business integration initiative in April 2022, creating an integrated model encompassing supermarkets, express delivery, and live-streaming e-commerce. Through this online and offline platform combining supply and marketing, e-commerce, and express delivery, the cooperative has not only improved service quality but also increased economic benefits, injecting new momentum into rural economic development.
In 2023, Suoxian County successively established 10 township-level grassroots cooperatives and 46 supply and marketing e-commerce service outlets, completely breaking down the "last mile" barrier in serving the people. "After mastering certain e-commerce operation knowledge and skills through e-commerce training, I started selling local agricultural specialties such as Tibetan incense, Tibetan chili peppers, tsampa, and fritillaria through live streaming," Tang Xue, a staff member of the Suoxian County Supply and Marketing Cooperative, shared her path to increased income.
Since 2021, Suoxian County has followed the "five fixed points and three unified standards" working principle for industrial poverty alleviation projects and the overall industrial deployment of "focusing on both ends and promoting the middle," submitting a total of 50 industrial projects in sectors such as specialty planting and breeding, processing, and commerce. By 2024, these projects had generated a cumulative benefit of over 150 million yuan, distributed over 50 million yuan in dividends, created 2,641 jobs for impoverished households, and increased their income by over 25 million yuan. The benefits have been fully integrated, allowing the people to share in the fruits of development.
Rural revitalization: Cultivating talent and activating momentum
"A thousand pieces of gold in hand are not as good as a skill in hand." Wei Dan, a farmer and herdsman from Jiaqin Township, truly understands this saying. To improve his family's living conditions, he voluntarily participated in a garment processing training program held in Suoxian County in 2021. After completing the training, he opened a shop in Jiaqin Township that combines a tailor shop and a general store. Now, Wei Dan's family earns about 24,000 yuan a month, and their lives are getting better and better. "Life is getting more and more promising now, and I will continue to work hard," Wei Dan said, his words full of hope.
The picture shows Weidan Sewing Shop in Jiaqin Township, Suoxian County.
In Suoxian County, there are many people like Weidan who have become wealthy through their crafts. Chisong from Gamei Township, with his hands and wisdom, has not only changed his own life but also brought convenience to the local people.
The picture shows Chisong, a villager from Gamei Village in Suoxian County, and his milk separator.
Previously, herders in summer pastures relied entirely on traditional ghee churns to extract ghee, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Chishong, with experience as a carpenter and blacksmith, invented a hand-operated milk separator after repeated trials and improvements, significantly increasing ghee extraction efficiency. Now, many people in Gamei Township use his invention, making their lives and work much more convenient.
In recent years, in order to fully promote employment and prosperity for the masses, Suoxian County has held multiple training courses to improve the skills of farmers and herdsmen, accurately matching market demand with the wishes of the masses, and implementing a support mechanism of "registering one, training one, sending one out, and employing one," enabling more people to master a skill and achieve stable income growth.
Talent is the long-term support for rural revitalization. Suoxian County adopts a "targeted training + aid-to-Tibet" model to continuously promote the healthy development of education, cultivate sustainable development capabilities, and build a backbone force for rural revitalization. As Dawa, principal of the Second Primary School of Suoxian County in Nagqu City, said, "We not only want children to 'have access to education,' but also to 'receive a good education,' fundamentally achieving talent revitalization."
Rural revitalization: cultural enrichment and inheritance of roots
As the hometown of Princess Zhumu of Gesar and an important town on the route of the 18th Army of the People's Liberation Army into Tibet, Suoxian County has a profound cultural heritage. In the "Dream Weaving Space" in Jiruotang Village, Rongbu Town, all kinds of handicrafts are on display, and Tsering Dorje is intently sewing leather goods with a bone needle.
For many years, Tsering Dorje has remained true to his original aspiration, transforming from a "craftsman" into a "guardian of the craft," meticulously passing on the traditional skill of leather crafting to his children. Under his influence, several of his children have inherited his mantle.
The photo shows Tsering Dorje from Jiruotang Village, Rongbu Town, Suoxian County, teaching leather craftsmanship.
“With my father’s patient guidance, all my siblings and I can now make leather goods independently. I believe this family craft will be passed down from generation to generation,” said Tsering Dorje, Tsering Dorje’s daughter.
The photo shows villagers from Gamu Village in Suoxian County performing the Gamuzhuo dance.
Gamuzhuo Dance is a unique folk dance form of Gamu Township, with a history of over a thousand years and rich cultural connotations. In 2020, Gamuzhuo Dance was listed in the Nagqu City Intangible Cultural Heritage List, providing a more solid guarantee for the inheritance of this ancient art.
Naijiang, a dancer of the Gamuzhuo dance, has been learning this dance since he was ten years old. "In the past, young men in the village were unwilling to learn this kind of original dance, but now many people want to learn it," Nailong happily shared the changes.
Thanks to the enthusiastic teaching of local folk artists like Naijiang, the number of Gamuzhuo dance enthusiasts has reached over 120, and the dance has even entered schools, being adapted into school calisthenics. "Our teacher said we dance very well, and next year he will take us to Lhasa for a competition. I want everyone to know how cool our Gamuzhuo dance is," said Danba Quzhen, a primary school student in Gamu Township, Suoxian County, highlighting the new vitality of this ancient culture.
The village history museum in Jiruotang Village, Rongbu Town, is an important carrier for the inheritance of cultural roots in Suoxian County. The museum records in detail the history of the 18th Army's lookout tower and the development and changes of the village, allowing visitors to feel as if they have traveled through time and space and experienced the tremendous changes in Suoxian County firsthand.
"Currently, Suoxian County has completed the construction of 11 village history museums, effectively promoting the inheritance and development of rural culture in Suoxian County," said Zhao Zhiyu, deputy director of the Organization Department of the Suoxian County Party Committee.
Rural revitalization: laying an ecological foundation to protect our homes
Located at an altitude of 4,500 meters on the Tibetan Plateau, Suoxian County enjoys over 2,470 hours of sunshine annually, providing fertile ground for the development of clean energy. Leveraging this advantage, Suoxian County is striving to build a clean energy demonstration base in the upper reaches of the Nujiang River, making green development a distinctive feature of the area.
The picture shows the Rere 50MW photovoltaic power generation base in Rewa Township, Suoxian County.
As the largest new grid-type photovoltaic power generation project with energy storage in the country, the Rere 50MW photovoltaic energy storage project not only injects green energy into Suoxian County, but also achieves a win-win situation for economic and ecological benefits. It has created more than 300 jobs for local people and increased their income by more than 3 million yuan.
Protecting the ecosystem is protecting our home. In Gamu Township, Tashi Tsering spends his years meticulously identifying the rings of every ancient tree and recording the tracks of snow leopards, immersing himself in this vast forest. His worn-out boots bear witness to his unwavering dedication over the years. Besides Tashi Tsering, more than 200 forest rangers take turns guarding the everlasting green mountains and clear waters. "We protect the trees, and the trees protect our home," Tashi Tsering says simply yet firmly.
The photo shows forest rangers patrolling in Gamu Township, Suoxian County.
In recent years, Suoxian County has consistently practiced the development concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," allocating over 7,000 ecological positions to various townships annually, actively disbursing ecological position subsidies, and intensifying ecological protection education and guidance. Since 2021, a total of over 2 million yuan has been invested to complete the planning for Suoxian County's ecological civilization construction demonstration county (district), continuously releasing ecological policy dividends, stimulating public enthusiasm for ecological protection, and making ecological revitalization a powerful support for rural development.
A good living environment is an important guarantee for rural revitalization. In recent years, Suoxian County has focused on the residential areas and living circles of its residents, making overall use of urban corners, abandoned land, and idle land to create multifunctional public areas, and has made great efforts to improve the green landscape of the county town, achieving seamless integration of "mountains, water, city, and culture". A new picture of green, clean, beautiful, and bright landscape and pastoral scenery is slowly unfolding.
By the end of 2024, Suoxian County had invested a total of 7.49 billion yuan in 452 projects, comprehensively improving the living services and security for the people, completing the renovation of 465 household toilets, continuously optimizing the rural living environment, and constantly enhancing the people's sense of gain and happiness.
Rural revitalization, focusing on promoting refined governance
Party building serves as the "red engine" for rural revitalization. In the courtyard of the Dalian New Village Police Station, Garma Zhandui is packing yak butter into his bag. While stationed in Ruoda Township, he met two elderly people living alone and became their closest confidant. Even after being transferred, Garma Zhandui still regularly visits the care center to see the elderly, bringing them yak butter and heartwarming greetings.
The photo shows police officer Gama Zhandui from the Dalian New Village Community Police Station in Suoxian County visiting an elderly person at a care center.
The old man often says that he knows his "son" has arrived when he hears the sound of a motorcycle. This concern has continued since Gama Zhandui's first day in the village, warming the years and demonstrating the original aspiration and mission of Party members and cadres.
By building strong fortresses to unite efforts and by providing meticulous governance to serve the people, Party members take the lead in protecting livestock in high-altitude villages and Party member commando teams rush to the front lines during snow disasters. The "Party member + farmer" assistance mechanism ensures that economic development and Party building in Suoxian County resonate in unison, thus building a solid grassroots governance fortress for rural revitalization.
Along the banks of the Suoqu River, the clear waters surge with the vitality of development; in the hometown of Zhumu, songs soar with the hope of revitalization. Suoxian County in Nagqu is striving to write a new chapter in rural revitalization with hard work as its pen and expectations as its ink.
