Photo shows the scenery of the Gongzhong Village of Bayi Town, Nyingchi City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [China Tibet News/Pan Lu]

The Gongzhong Village is located in Bayi Town, Nyingchi City, which is a famous Tibetan folk village, and the unique Tibetan courtyards attract tourists from all over the world. 

Ecological environment greatly improved

The Gongzhong Village in Tibetan means village located in the woods at the foot of a mountain. According to the villagers, more than 10 years ago, the villagers cut down the trees on the mountains, which destroyed the ecological environment. Later, under the guidance and support of the superior department, all villagers began to participate in environmental protection.

Relevant departments strictly protected the only arable land and set up signs to avoid the abuse of arable land; constructed pipelines to bring in mountain spring water for human and animals, and delimited drinking water source protection areas to implement the policy closing hill for afforestation; implemented the grassland contracting system, and bred livestock through planting alfalfa grass, which promoted the policy of returning grazing to grassland.

At present, all villagers can use clean and environmentally friendly biogas energy, public toilets are built, garbage cans are installed, and forest fire prevention equipment is equipped. The village appearance renovation and landscape avenue construction work are completed. At the same time, the holiday houses with Tibetan style, restaurants, boutique hotels as well as cultural exhibition halls are also built.

Tourism enriches people

The Gongzhong Village is known as the Tibetan folk village because of its profound cultural deposits and rich tourism resources.

There are various Tibetan-style buildings, cultural attractions, folk performing halls, crafts workshops and so on in the village, as well as roasted Tibetan pigs, Tsam-pa, buttered tea, etc.

In recent years, relying on the advantages of scenic spots, the village has created the upscale green products, and promoted the tourism poverty alleviation with good industrial structure, Kelzang Yangjen, the party branch secretary of Gongzhong Village, said.

In July 2013, Gongzhong Village signed a cooperation agreement with a tourism service center as well as cultural tourism companies, and it is put into operation as the scenic spot. Villagers are engaged in selling special local products, doing some cleaning, safety maintenance as well as other works in the scenic spot, so as to increase their income.

In addition, the village also develops the national handicraft production industry and the characteristic planting and breeding industry. The villagers sell handicraft products such as wooden bowls and Pulu on the sales platform of the scenic spot. Besides, on the basis of existing apiary and fungus plantation, the village further expands the planting area of the oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom as well as others, and develops Tibetan chicken and Tibetan pig breeding.

Leading people to develop industries

Dawa Phuntsog, a foregoer who leads the villagers to get rich, inherits the ancestral Tibetan incense production technology. To develop the Tibetan incense business better, he sets up a cooperative to solve the employment problem of villagers. He also went to Guangzhou, Fujian and other places to learn the operation technology of machines, increased the variety of Tibetan incense, and opened an online store. There are 9 employees who have been working in cooperative for a long time, 3 of them are poor households, and they not only increase their income, but also master a skill and get rid of poverty by learning Tibetan incense production.

Juan'an, an entrepreneur, transforms a resort restaurant into a professional cooperative for farmers and herdsmen, which integrates specialty catering, accommodation, entertainment and handicraft. There are 24 members in the cooperative, and 90% of them are local farmers and herdsmen. Through participating in the production of beaded ornaments, embroidered Thangka and the breeding of Tibetan chickens, ducks and geese, people can get 2,000-4,000 yuan of dividend annually. [Zhi Xinghua, Zhu Nan]