Dolma Ngodrup (L) poses for photos with her daughter at home in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2026.
Dolma Ngodrup, 81, lives in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Her childhood was defined by suffering, as she had served serf owners since she was seven years old.
As a child, Dolma Ngodrup had to gather cow dung for fuel in the dead of winter, and once was attacked by wild dogs, leaving scars on her feet. Her arm was permanently injured by beatings from the serf-owner's sticks and remains unable to fully straighten. Even now, whenever she speaks of those dark days, her eyes are still filled with pain.
It was not until the democratic reform in Xizang in 1959, when millions of serfs were emancipated, that her life truly began to change for the better.
The once barren fields in Kyerpa Village have been turned into high-standard farmland, with the entire process from planting to harvest now fully mechanized. Former serfs no longer have to spend their days bending over in the fields. They have straightened their backs and truly become masters of their own land.
With the support of a range of policies aimed at developing border areas, improving livelihoods and revitalizing rural communities, life for Dolma Ngodrup and her fellow villagers has steadily improved. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Dolma Ngodrup (L) participates in a spring ploughing ceremony in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Dolma Ngodrup (C) participates in a spring ploughing ceremony in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Dolma Ngodrup participates in a spring ploughing ceremony in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Dolma Ngodrup waters flowers at home in Kyerpa Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
