Pasang Tsering talks with his daughter by cole flower blossoms in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026.
In 2008, Xinhua photographer Sonam Norbu captured a moment marking the intersection of traditional farming and modern transportation. In the image, Pasang Tsering, a Tibetan farmer in Gurum Township of Lhasa, was plowing a field with yaks while a train on the Qinghai-Xizang Railway passed behind him. "The journalist shows me the photo right after he took it. I learned it was published in the newspaper later," Pasang Tsering recalled.
Nearly two decades later, both Pasang Tsering's life and the landscape around him have changed alongside the railway. During a recent revisit, Pasang Tsering was seen photographing his daughter in a blooming cole flower field, with a walking tractor parked nearby. Nowadays, he makes use of modern agricultural machinery, which greatly improves farming efficiency. The opening of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway has made agricultural machinery and advanced farming technologies more accessible in Xizang.
In 2017, Pasang Tsering moved into a spacious two-story concrete house. The railway has reduced transportation costs for construction materials, making it more affordable for rural families to build new houses.
Today, Pasang Tsering still enjoys looking up at trains passing by his fields. He hopes his son will one day take the train to study outside Xizang, and he could also travel by rail to explore the country he lives in. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)
Pasang Tsering watches a train passing by his fields in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)
Pasang Tsering feeds his yak at home in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)
Pasang Tsering takes photos of his daughter among cole flower blossoms in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)
Pasang Tsering (L) takes a group photo with his daughter and son at home in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan)
Pasang Tsering drinks tea with his daughter at home in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026.(Xinhua/Jiang Fan)
Pasang Tsering watches a train passing by his fields in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)
This combo photo shows Pasang Tsering plowing his field with yaks (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Sonam Norbu on March 19, 2008), and plowing with a walking tractor (below, photo by Xinhua photographer Jiang Fan on June 20, 2026). (Xinhua)
Pasang Tsering drives a three-wheeled vehicle home in Gurum Township of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)
