Tibetan prefecture marks 70th anniversary of peaceful liberation

A celebration ceremony was held Friday in Qamdo prefecture, southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, to mark the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of the prefecture.

Dancers perform during a gala in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Qamdo, in Qamdo city, southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, Oct. 9, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

People of different ethnic groups and walks of life from 11 counties and districts in the prefecture took part in the celebrations, with 23 floats and square formations providing marching performances.

Representatives of former serfs, retired leaders and students delivered speeches at the ceremony.

"Every household in our village has a new house, with cars, motorcycles, TV sets and refrigerators. Mobiles, computers and household appliances can all be found in our village," Ngawang Jamcan, the offspring of former serfs, said at the ceremony. "Now our life is sweeter than honey."

Over the past decades, Qamdo has made a historic leap from feudal serfdom to a socialist system, with the regional GDP expanding by 539 times to 22 billion yuan (US$3.28 billion) and the per capita income of residents in rural areas skyrocketing by 525 times to 11,545 yuan in 2019, compared with the levels in 1958. To date, all the impoverished counties and residents in the prefecture have shaken off poverty.

On Oct. 19, 1950, troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army marched into Qamdo prefecture, which sits in the east of Tibet and borders Yunnan, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, raising the Chinese national flag there.

The event was a precursor to the peaceful liberation of the whole of Tibet in the following year.