Across more than 3,000 kilometers of mountains and rivers, the warm currents of aid from Beijing and Jiangsu continue to flow into thevillages of Xizang'sLhasa. Once distant from each other, the three places have drawn closer at heart through two-way collaborative efforts, and the entire plateau is brimming with renewed vitality.

Maizhokunggar's branded "One Barrel of Oil" has helped local farmers and herders increase their income by over 20 million yuan(RMB) through cultural tourism festivals and live-streaming e-commerce. The college entrance examination admission rates at Lhasa Beijing Experimental Middle School and Lhasa Jiangsu Experimental Middle School both exceed 99%. Lhasa People's Hospital has set up a pediatric intensive care unit, so many severe and difficult cases that once had to be transferred outside the region can now be treated locally.

As the fruits of aid take root on the plateau, Lhasa is steadily transforming paired assistance into endogenous momentum for high-quality development.

Economic collaboration—Building a whole-chain development system for highland specialty industries

At the Thonmi Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Nyemo County, strawberry and cherry greenhouses introduced by the Beijing aid team are already bearing abundant fruit. In the first half of 2025 alone, strawberry production reached 8,300 kilograms, with sales of 297,000 yuan(RMB). Local farmers and herders have doubled their incomes by shifting from growing potatoes to strawberries. "We introduced high-quality varieties such as Benihoppe strawberries and Tieton cherries, and we also taught cultivation techniques," said Niu Yaoqi, a member of the 10th batch of Beijing aid cadres and deputy director of the Nyemo County Agriculture, Rural Affairs, and Water Resources Bureau. These techniques were not simply copied but were adapted for the plateau environment, allowing greenhouse agriculture to truly take root in the snowy highlands.

In September 2025, the Maizhokunggar "Songtsen" Cultural Tourism Festival opened under the theme "New Chapter of Maizhokunggar – Tribute at Sixty Years." At the event, a rapeseed oil purchase agreement was signed, and a "farmer aid livestream" was set up right in the fields. Gongqiu Meizhu, an employee of Maizhokunggar Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Pure Land Industry Development Co., Ltd., said, "Our livestream mainly promotes local small-batch rapeseed oil. Many consumers learned for the first time just how good highland rapeseed oil can be." Through livestreaming, Maizhokunggar's "One Barrel of Oil" successfully went viral, driving cumulative income increases of more than 20 million yuan(RMB) for farmers and herders.

Specialty agriculture and livestream e-commerce have brought highland products to households across the country, while the whole-chain deployment by the two aid teams is extending industrial empowerment from specialty agricultural products to broader arenas such as cultural tourism and the digital economy.

The Beijing Aid Headquarters has set up a special "tourism" working group, held multiple cultural tourism promotion events, and facilitated the operation of three "Beijing–Xizang" tourist trains. Beijing has continuously supported the establishment of a parallel session of the Global Digital Economy Conference in Lhasa. The Jiangsu Aid Headquarters has helped Lhasa formulate the region's first rural tourism standard and held a Lhasa digital economy investment promotion conference in Nantong.

From traditional agriculture and animal husbandry to the digital economy, and from single products to whole industrial chains—collaboration paths are becoming increasingly visible on the plateau.

Technology empowerment—Achieving breakthroughs in both healthcare and scientific innovation

Since the launch of the "group-style" medical aid program from Beijing, teams of Beijing doctors have come to Lhasa People's Hospital one after another. Through the "hospital-department pairing" model, clinical departments have received sustained support, with new technologies and projects being implemented continuously.

Not long ago, 11-month-old little Tseyang developed hemolytic uremic syndrome due to infection, with severe anemia and rapidly declining kidney function. A few years earlier, she would have had to be transferred to a hospital in Chengdu or Beijing. This time, however, in the newly established pediatric intensive care unit at Lhasa People's Hospital, Dr. Wan Ling—an aid doctor from the Capital Children's Medical Center affiliated with Capital Medical University—led the team to save her. This successful case marks a qualitative leap in the pediatric department's capacity to treat critical and rare diseases.

With the sustained support of the aid teams, Lhasa People's Hospital now has its own locally trained PhD in gastroenterology. Doctors at all recipient hospitals have also significantly improved their ability to diagnose and treat common, frequent, and some critical illnesses.

The "group-style" medical aid program addresses shortcomings through technology and cultivates local talent. Meanwhile, technology empowerment in the aid effort has extended from people's livelihoods to key links in Lhasa's industrial development.

The Beijing Aid Headquarters has supported the construction of an intelligent computing center in Lhasa, encouraged high-quality Beijing incubation enterprises to exchange and cooperate in Lhasa, and helped modernize and standardize the Tibetan medicine industry. In 2025, Lhasa was invited for the first time to set up an independent pavilion at the China Beijing International High-Tech Expo and signed multiple artificial intelligence cooperation agreements with the Zhongguancun Intelligent Technology Development Promotion Association. The Jiangsu Aid Headquarters has implemented the "Jiangsu Universities and Institutes into Lhasa" program to solve a number of key technical problems.

Intellectual support—Building a long-term mechanism for cultivating local talent

On the day the 2025 college entrance examination results were released, both Lhasa Beijing Experimental Middle School and Lhasa Jiangsu Experimental Middle School produced satisfying report cards: the former had an admission rate of 99.8% and a first-tier university admission rate of 95.1%; the latter had an admission rate of 99.84% and a first-tier rate of 93.75%.

"Beijing aid teachers and local teachers have formed ‘master-apprentice' pairs. More than 200 aid teachers have participated, helping local teachers win over 200 awards in various teaching competitions. The school also regularly invites experts from Beijing for training and sends local teachers to Beijing for on-the-job study," said a representative of Lhasa Beijing Experimental Middle School.

Lhasa Jiangsu Experimental Middle School has also introduced Jiangsu's teaching model, pairing aid teachers with local teachers for mentoring. Adapting to the plateau context, the school has implemented a "guided learning plan" so that students are prepared before class and focused during lessons.

At the same time, Lhasa regularly sends local officials and professional technical personnel to Beijing, Jiangsu, and other places for training. In 2025, it trained more than 1,000 talented individuals across various fields. Through "short-term aid" and "expert visits to Xizang" programs, experts and scholars from Beijing and Jiangsu have been invited to Lhasa to provide special training and technical guidance, addressing practical difficulties face-to-face and steadily strengthening the local talent pool.

A single strawberry has filled farmers' pockets; a new medical technology has safeguarded the people's lifeline; a good class has illuminated the growth path of the next generation. Today, Lhasa is transforming aid warmth from thousands of miles away into endogenous momentum for high-quality development.

Reporter: Liu Siyu, Lu Wenjing

Translator: Zheng Yujie, Liu Fang

Review: Phurbu Tsering, Drakpa Wangchen