Xinhua News Agency, Lhasa, January 8th - Title: A New Beginning in Tingri's "Rebirth"
January 8th is Tsering Lhaba's first birthday.
One year ago today, he was born at the Shigatse People's Hospital, becoming the first newborn from the epicenter of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Tingri. In the past year, under the rotating care of his parents, neighbors, village officials, and township officials, Tsering Lhaba has grown from a crying infant in swaddling clothes into a babbling, toddler. His cheerful disposition, quiet nature, willingness to share, and lack of shyness have become hallmarks of his development.
The healthy growth of this "earthquake baby" is a vivid testament to the rebirth of this land.
Stepping into his hometown—Za Village, Changsuo Township, Dingri County, Shigatse City—one can now see the warmth of rebirth and the tenderness of everyday life everywhere: brand-new Tibetan-style houses are scattered in an orderly manner, with white walls and red eaves shining brightly in the sunlight, and the courtyard walls are piled with cow dung cakes for keeping warm in winter, with smoke rising from every household.
Not far from the roadside is a village house, Tsering Laba's new home, covering an area of 110 square meters. Upon entering, a wave of warmth washes over you. Inside, the stove is burning brightly, and his mother, Pengqiong, is holding him in front of it to keep warm. Sunlight shines through the double-glazed windows, illuminating the faces of the mother and son, making their smiles even warmer and brighter.
"The new house is warmer and has a bathroom, so it's very comfortable to live in." Peng Qiong's words were full of undisguised joy.
From tents on the first day after the earthquake, to temporary prefabricated houses, and now to bright and clean new homes, the changes this year are also reflected in public services and infrastructure such as water, electricity, internet, hospitals, and roads.
For Tsering Lhaba, the cartoons broadcast on television became an important form of companionship. The bright visuals and lively sound effects frequently elicited his childish laughter.
Over the past year, Tsering Wangdu, the Party Secretary of Changsuo Township, has visited Tsering Laba's family multiple times. He said that the township health center, which was damaged in the earthquake, has been repaired, and doctors now regularly visit various villages to conduct vaccinations and health checkups for newborns, safeguarding the healthy growth of the children.
More and more changes are illuminating the childhoods of children in the earthquake-stricken area. From housing repair and reinforcement to new home planning and construction, from infrastructure upgrading to precise provision of public services… Shigatse City has insisted on simultaneously advancing the reconstruction of residential buildings and the construction of supporting infrastructure, planning and constructing public service facilities such as cultural activity centers, basketball courts, clinics, and kindergartens in parallel and in stages. Currently, the main infrastructure in the disaster area has been restored to function, and public service facilities such as education and medical care, where conditions permit, have been put into use.
The construction of various infrastructure projects has also brought employment and income opportunities to this family. Since the post-disaster reconstruction, the father, Gesang Dorje, and the maternal grandfather, Mima, have participated in the reconstruction through "work-for-relief" programs, earning 70,000 to 80,000 yuan. Some of these funds have been used to supplement the family's living supplies, while others have been transformed into clothes, quilts, and toys for Tsering Lhaba.
"I can now buy some of my child's supplies online, and they arrive in about a week, which is very convenient," Peng Qiong said.
In this hopeful scene of life, the joyous news of new lives arriving one after another is constantly being spread in the new villages following the earthquake in Tingri. In just one year, more than 3,000 newborns have been born in the disaster-stricken areas of Tingri, Lazi, Dingjie, and Saga counties. New life and new homes complement each other, illuminating the happy lives of countless families. Their smiling faces are the best proof of this land's rebirth.
Xinhua reporters Li Jian, Jiang Fan, and Suolang Deji
