Xizang is beautiful, modern and traditional

I am only halfway through my first trip to the Xizang autonomous region, having spent the past 12 days traversing it. Yet what I have seen so far has already been a revelation.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, the world's highest palace and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is as magnificent and majestic as the photographs and videos suggest. So is the nearby Jokhang Monastery. In Lhoka, the colorful Samye Monastery and Yumbulagang — the earliest palace in Xizang — are equally impressive.

I also ventured to the Rituo Temple, perched at an altitude of about 4,450 meters above sea level in the middle of the beautiful Yamzhog Yumco Lake.

Known as the Roof of the World, Xizang's landscape is unrivaled as I experienced during my driving tour.

The shimmering lakes and massive glacial mountain ranges, such as the 7,782-meter Namcha Barwa, a mountain peak that sits before the 270-degree view from my hotel room in Suosong village in Nyingchi, are simply breathtaking.

Equally impressive is the region's commitment to protecting its natural landscape. Almost all of Xizang's energy comes from renewable sources, including hydropower, solar and wind.

The region has become a net exporter of clean energy to the national power grid.

A visit to a solar farm in Lhasa offered a glimpse of this transformation. The project is one of the many in the region and has helped improve the livelihoods and well-being of the local community.

Driving in Xizang is quite comfortable because the highway system has improved dramatically. The 13-kilometer-long Guigala Tunnel that links Lhasa and Lhoka is a modern engineering marvel.

Xizang and Hainan are the only two provincial-level regions in China that operate highway systems without physical toll stations.

A four-wheel drive is highly recommended in Xizang if you want to explore steep mountain paths and some rough terrain. As I have painfully discovered during the trip, even cars can suffer altitude sickness.

The booming tourism industry has brought many job opportunities for local residents, who now run family inns, restaurants, tour agencies and handicraft shops.

A Tibetan incense factory I visited in Dagze district of Lhasa offers a vivid example of how tradition and modernization can reinforce each other. The traditional technique has been well preserved while creating jobs for the locals, including people with disabilities.

Norbu, a young Tibetan man, offered me valuable advice for my road trip. An avid traveler himself, he studied at a university in Jilin province and speaks fluent Putonghua and English in addition to Tibetan.

During my 16 years as a foreign correspondent in the United States and Europe, I frequently came across accusations that "the Chinese government was trying to erode the Tibetan language".

The truth, as I heard from the locals, is very different. Almost everyone speaks Tibetan in Xizang.

The problem is actually the opposite, as I was told. Those who speak only Tibetan but not Putonghua, or Mandarin, face more challenges in the job market, both in Xizang and elsewhere in China. It's similar to Spanish speakers in the US who do not speak English and therefore have fewer employment opportunities.

Like the rest of China, Xizang has made phenomenal progress over the past decades. Living standards have risen significantly, infrastructure has expanded and education and medical services have improved dramatically.

Pensions in Xizang are now among the highest in the country and local employees at government institutions enjoy considerably longer holidays than their counterparts elsewhere.

I also met many foreign tourists in Lhasa, another reminder of the region's growing appeal. I have little doubt that Xizang will become even more prosperous in the years and decades ahead while continuing to preserve its spectacular natural beauty and rich traditions.

Before embarking on the trip, I worried about possible altitude sickness. But a few days of adjustment in Lhasa proved quite effective.

As I continue my travels over the coming days, I am already contemplating a more ambitious and challenging road trip to the Ngari prefecture in western Xizang, perhaps later this fall or next year.

The author is a China Daily columnist.

chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn