LHASA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- On an autumn morning, a towering snow-capped mountain looms in and out of sight amidst the swirling clouds. On the bumpy road surrounding the mountain, Sangye Tenzin asks the tourist on horseback whether he needs to take a break.
Sangye Tenzin, 36, hails from Gangca, a small village at the foot of Mount Kangrinboqe in Ngari Prefecture, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.
Over the past month, he has earned some 7,000 yuan (about 986 U.S. dollars) providing horseback-riding services, with each round trip taking about three days. "The income is much higher than herding," said the Tibetan, also a caravan leader.
A sacred site for Hindu and Buddhist believers at an elevation of 6,656 meters, Mount Kangrinboqe attracts tourists and pilgrims from home and abroad every year.
By developing the tourism industry, including guide, porter, horseback riding and accommodation services, the village which used to rely on herding has shaken off poverty and embraced prosperity.
Home to more than 360 households, the village organized a yak transportation team in the 1980s, carrying belongings for pilgrims and tourists. In 2018, under the support of the county government, the village established a tourism service company called Kangrinboqe for standard management of horse and yak transportation, and other services.
Phuntsog Yeshe, director of the village committee, said each round-trip charges 2,370 yuan per horse, 1,860 yuan of which is directly paid to the villager providing the service.
The company also organizes training in the Mandarin and English languages and cooking.
Elena Flerova, one of the 50 members of a foreign tour group, just returned from a three-day hike around the mountain, resting and waiting for the tour bus. She said the tour group would spend a night in a hotel in Gangca.
"It's an amazing view. I love the food here," said the 48-year-old, who teaches Yoga in Moscow.
In 2019, the county government built a hotel in the village and leased it to a third-party company for operation as one of the projects to help support local development.
Tenzin Chophel, a former impoverished villager and a father of four children, shook off poverty after the hotel hired him as an attendant later in the same year.
Now, his salary has risen from 6,000 yuan a month to 8,000 yuan because he has been promoted as a leading attendant. With the hotel management experience he has gained there, Tenzin Chophel encouraged Kunsang, his wife, to open a homestay in 2022, earning 30,000 yuan last year. The couple have also leased their three horses to horseback-riding service providers for additional income.
"Now that we have enough savings, we have bought a car and traveled to Lhasa for sightseeing and doing physical checks," Tenzin Chophel said with a smile.
The Kangrinboqe company also organizes a cultural tourism festival yearly, including horse racing and other folk activities, to promote Tibetan ethnic culture and attract more tourists.
In 2023, the village company generated over 10.4 million yuan in revenue, paying villagers more than 3 million yuan for their labor and over 410,000 yuan in dividends.
To protect the eco-environment, the roads inside the Kangrinboqe resort are not paved and visitors are not allowed to drive in. The resort has set up a "garbage bank," where tourists, pilgrims and residents are encouraged to collect garbage on the way in exchange for small gifts, such as key rings, hats and towels. The collected garbage is taken away for proper disposal.
The transformation of Gangca Village is a miniature showing the change in Xizang.
Being the only provincial-level contiguous poverty-stricken region in China in the past, the region had accomplished the historic feat of eradicating absolute poverty by the end of 2019, with 628,000 people lifted out of poverty.
According to the latest figures released by the regional department of agriculture and rural affairs earlier this month, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Xizang was 6,711 yuan in the first half of this year, an increase of 8.4 percent year on year. The growth rate ranked second across the country during the period.
Some 50 km away from Gangca Village, an airport is expected to be in commercial operation soon.
Jigme Dorje, Party chief of the village, said the Kangrinboqe company has also opened a cab business.
"Once the airport goes operational, we can pick up tourists directly from the airport, with more tourism revenue expected," he said.