It was almost impossible to have meat as food at that time. "As the serf owner throw some bones, we have to fight with dogs for the marrow inside the bones," according to Yeshe, "we work as men at daytime and guard the house as dogs at nighttime."

In March 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform that ended the region's feudal serfdom. This changed Yeshe's life from living like a "talking animal" to being a real human.

Thanks to the democratic reform, a total of two hectares of land, together with the house, cattle and sheep, were assigned to Yeshe's family. Today, there are 30 members of four generations in Yeshe's family. Yeshe has so many grandchildren that he could hardly recognize them all. Yeshe no longer worries about food and clothing, as his life condition has never been better.

"People in the village say that our hometown would be built as great as the city of Lhasa." Yeshe is very optimistic about the future. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)