A herd of wild donkeys.	Dong Mingjun (first right), secretary of the CPC Ngari Prefectural Committee, and Zhang Qingli (second left), secretary of the CPC Tibet Autonomous Region committee, at a herder's home.	Ngari in June.

Ngari is 1,600 kilometers from Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a vast, 345,000-sq-km plateau whose sparse population of 80,000 is comprised of various ethnic groups.

High altitude and scant transport make access to Ngari difficult, but this does not deter the many adventurers and admirers of its plateau scenery of lakes and snow-capped mountains that visit it every year.

Ngari’s scenic attractions include Mapam Yumco Lake, the world’s highest altitude freshwater lake; the Maquan River, source of the world’s highest-altitude river the Yarlung Zangbo; Kangrinboqe Mountain, regarded as the “center of the world” by followers of Tibetan Buddhism; the remains of the Guge Kingdom; Toding Monastery; Bird Island in the Bangong Co Scenic Area; Korqag Monastery; the Zanda Mesa; the Dongkar grotto murals; the ancient Zhangzhung culture; and the 500-year-old Burang International Market. It is little wonder that Ngari is one of the most popular tour destinations in Tibet.

As the Qinghai-Tibet Railway had not yet gone into operation at the time of my visit, I drove to Ngari on the world’s highest-altitude Xinjiang-Tibet Highway.

“Achievement Takes a Tenfold Effort”

Shiquanhe Town, seat of the Ngari Prefecture Administrative Office, is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Upon climbing a nearby slope I gazed at a panoramic view of the gently flowing Shiquan River and the distant snowcapped Gangdise Mountains, which resembled a twisting jade ribbon between Ngari and the clear blue sky.

“Conditions in Ngari are hard, although the living standards of the Tibetan people have generally improved. Cadres working in this area, where the average altitude is 4,500 meters, must make ten times the effort of those in other parts of the region if they are to achieve anything worthwhile,” said Dong Mingjun, secretary of the CPC Ngari Prefectural Committee.

Dong Mingjun is from Shouguang City, Shandong Province. He personifies the spirit of veteran cadres who, when they first came to Tibet decades ago, “withstood, overcame and endured hardship, united, and made a vital contribution.” After his inspection tour of Ngari, Zhang Qingli, secretary of the CPC Tibet Autonomous Region Committee, commented, “I never expected cadres posted in Ngari’s adverse, remote environment to be in such good spirits, or to have achieved such a high standard of regional planning.”

Cadres in Ngari include local Tibetans as well as Han Chinese, such as Dong Mingjun, from the interior areas. They are public leaders and professionals in such fields as agriculture, construction, medicine and finance. Ngari’s cadres have helped bring about a record 550-kg output of highland barley per mu, build highways, provide medical treatment for Tibetan herdsmen, and bring badly needed funding and projects to the prefecture.

Ngari Prefecture’s first priority is development. With this in mind it has conducted such activities as “1,000 cadres going to pastoral areas to promote development” and the “3-2-1 Poverty Alleviation Project,” whereby high-ranking cadres personally monitor the well-being of three households, those on the next level look out for two households, and the rest for one. These undertakings have obliged cadres to withstand the physical hardships of a cold climate, low oxygen, snowstorms and drought, as well as poor production conditions.

In May, 2006, Dong Mingjun, who at that time was commissioner of Ngari Prefecture, acted on his own initiative when he traveled to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to ask the People’s Liberation Army’s help in transporting building materials necessary to complete a housing project for farmers and herders on schedule.

By the end of 2005, the Ngari Prefecture GDP amounted to RMB 960 million, which represents an annual growth of 18 percent; and per capita GDP reached RMB 10,782. The per capita net income of farmers and herders reached RMB 1,801.

Building a New Ngari

Stability is a principle of overriding importance in Ngari Prefecture and development is the key to maintaining it. Intensification on the part of the central authorities of further implementation of the Western Development Strategy and aid from various parts of the country has enabled Ngari Prefecture to clarify its development path.

Ngari Prefecture is still at a low level of social development due to the influence of various natural, historical and social factors. Its fragile ecological environment, adverse living and production conditions, backward infrastructure, and low level of social growth restrict socio-economic development. But implementation of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) has enabled the Prefecture to clarify its strategic concept of building a united, prosperous, civilized, peaceful and harmonious New Ngari.

According to the Outline of National Economy and Social Development for the 11th Five-Year Plan of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, a document formulated in December 2005, Ngari Prefecture will deal with all problems arising during its advance by means of development and reform. It will put into practice the sustainable development strategy and develop Ngari through science and education. Raising the incomes and improving the living standards of farmers and herders is a central task, alongside accelerating the construction of infrastructure, developing characteristic and advantageous industries and promoting social undertakings. Emphasis will also be laid on accelerating construction of agricultural and pastoral areas, developing characteristic industries, transforming modes of economic growth, deepening reform and improving living standards.

Ngari’s goal is to achieve a GDP of RMB 1.85 billion by 2010, annual growth of 14 percent; local revenue of RMB 117 million, an annual increase of 14 percent; farmers’ per capita net income of RMB 3,800, an annual increase of 14 percent; and 18 percent urbanization. New development will be achieved via infrastructure, and postal and telephone services will soon be available in every township and village. Grassland animal husbandry, with the emphasis on cashmere goats, will see steady development, and farmers and herders will have their share of the achievements of economic development and social progress.

In creating a new situation of stability and harmony through development and reform, Ngari Prefecture is about to enter a new track of rapid development.