Sonam Tobgye's parents were serfs in old Tibet. His family once lived in an adobe house without windows next to the cowshed. Hunger during childhood has become a memory that the 78-year-old can never forget.
Such a plight came to an end in 1959 when the family was granted farmland, grains and livestock.
On March 28, 1959, the central government led the people in Tibet to launch the democratic reform, abolishing Tibet's feudal serfdom under theocracy. The life of locals has been drastically improved ever since.
In 2009, the regional legislature announced that March 28 would be a day to commemorate the emancipation of the 1 million serfs. Tibet has witnessed significant progress.
By the end of 2019, all the 628,000 registered poor people and 74 designated poor counties in Tibet had risen from poverty, marking the end of absolute poverty in Tibet.
The region's GDP skyrocketed to 208 billion yuan (about 32.8 billion U.S. dollars) last year from 174 million yuan in 1959.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
