An aerial drone photo shows tourists visiting an azalea scenic area in Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, April 1, 2026. The azaleas in Bijie are currently in full bloom, drawing crowds of visitors. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)
Staff members work at a breeding laboratory at Shouguang vegetable germplasm resource center in Shouguang, east China's Shandong Province, April 1, 2026. Shouguang germplasm resource center, the largest of its kind in Shandong, has collected more than 26,000 vegetable seed species. Seeds here could stay alive for three to five decades in proper storage conditions supported by intelligent and automated control system, which provides crucial foundation for ensuring the security of the national vegetable seed industry and biodiversity. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui)
Tsering Samdrup kisses his great-grandson at home in Samyai Town of Shannan, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2026.
Tsering Samdrup, an 83-year-old former serf, is now enjoying a happy life. He lives in a spacious and bright two-story Tibetan-style house. His granddaughter has built a hotel on their own land, adjacent to a commercial street in Samyai Town, with an annual income exceeding 100,000 yuan.
When speaking of his life today, Tsering is filled with gratitude. "Such a good life was something we didn't even dare to imagine in old Xizang," Tsering said.
Recalling the hardships of the old days, Tsering's words are filled with bitterness.
Tsering's father was a tailor who made clothes and shoes for serf owners and wealthy families, yet he himself could only wear patched clothes and relied on meager earnings to support his family. His mother was also a serf who spent her entire life in servitude, with only three or four days of rest during the New Year.
"In old Xizang, we had no freedom at all. We didn't even have the right to live to old age," Tsering lamented. Worse still, the older generation was unable to teach their children to read, leaving offspring engulfed in illiteracy and suffering in old days. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)
Rescuers work in the rubble of damaged buildings in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 2, 2026. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has lifted the tsunami early warning issued after a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Maluku region of eastern Indonesia on Thursday morning, following monitoring that showed no significant sea level changes.
A woman was found dead during the rescue process after the earthquake. (Photo by Frans Nugraha/Xinhua)
Farmers transport rice seedlings in Jingxing Village in Changning City, central China's Hunan Province, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua)
Visitors learn about the flexible green power hydrogen product solution of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) during the 14th Energy Storage International Conference and Expo (ESIE) in Beijing, capital of China, April 2, 2026. The 14th ESIE, featuring six themed exhibition pavilions, is held from March 31 to April 3. (Xinhua/Yin Dongxun)
Wang Yidi celebrates after the women's singles round of 16 match between Wang Yidi of China and Harimoto Miwa of Japan at the ITTF Men's and Women's World Cup 2026 in Macao, China, April 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Yu Yang)
This photo taken on April 2, 2026 shows a scene at the site of an air cargo plane crash in Palawan, the Philippines. Two pilots were killed on Thursday when their air cargo plane crashed outside the perimeter of an airport in Barangay Decalacho in Coron, Palawan, in the Philippines, according to the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG). (Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group/Handout via Xinhua)
Students pay tribute to martyrs at a martyrs' cemetery in Binhai New Area in north China's Tianjin, April 2, 2026. People across the country attended various activities to pay tribute to martyrs ahead of the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 5 this year. (Photo by Du Penghui/Xinhua)
