Tourism lifts poor community

Local government has poured 230m yuan into improving infrastructure

Dakdong village, deep in the mountains of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, used to be poverty-stricken but now reaps millions of yuan every year as a major rural tourism destination, featuring peach picking, camping and a hot spring.

Nyima Yudron, 31, used to live in a stone house in the village with six family members, including two children, her parents and a younger brother.

She and her husband, Yan Yongming, a decorator in urban Lhasa, recently paid 140,000 yuan ($20,000) for a new two-story, 100-square-meter house.

One reason that was possible is that Nyima Yudron is no longer a housewife, and instead works as a property management assistant for a tourism company, earning 3,200 yuan a month.

She said she is satisfied with her life: "The children study at school for free. I got a job near my home so that I can take care of the elderly."