Feature:Fromserfdomtofreedom,newlifearisingfromoldXizangmanor_GuangmingOnlineTsetentakesawalkoutsidehishomeinQonggyaiCountyinShannan,southwestChina'sXizangAutonomousRegion,Feb.22,2024.(Xinhua/TenzingNimaQadhup)byXinhuawritersLiuZhoupeng,LyuQiupingandBaiMingshanLHASA,March21(Xinhua)--Haditnotbeenfordemocraticreform65yearsago,TsetenfromsouthwestChina'sXizangAutonomousRegionwouldhavebeensoldbyhismasterandseparatedfromhisparents.At13,anagewhenserfchildrenweretradedamongmanors,theTibetanboywasabouttobebroughttothemarketfortradingwhendemocraticreforminMarch1959abolishedthefeudalserfdomsystemintheregion,freeingsome1millionpeople."Comparedwiththosewhoweresoldandeventorturedtodeath,Iwasratherfortunate,"saidTseten,now78,wholivesinavillaneartheformermanorhisfamilyusedtoserveinQonggyaiCountyinthecityofShannan.Lastyear,thecountygovernmentinvested4millionyuan(563,841U.S.dollars)inrenovatingthemanorbasedonitsoriginalappearanceandisplanningtoturnitintoatentedcamp,wherevisitorscangetaglimpseofthemiserablelivesenduredbyserfsbeforetheyweresetfree.Bornintothelowestrankofserfs,Tsetenlivedinalivestockshedatthemanor,sharingspacewithsheepandtheirmanure.Atnight,hewasoftenawakenedduetoasheepsteppingonhim.Herevealedthatleftoversfromthemasters'diningtablewereforthemaidstoeat,whilealltheserfshadtoeatwassoupmadeofbarleyflour--soupasclearaswater."Ihadtoeataftermyparentsbecausetheyhadheavylabortodo,"Tsetenrecalled,withmemoriesofhungerstillhauntinghim.Backthen,Tseten'sparentsweremuleteersatthemanor,usingmulestotransportfarmingyieldslikebarleyflourandyakbuttertothecityofLhasa.Sometimes,robberswouldstealtheirgoodsontheway."Iremembermyfatherbeingtiedtothestairsandwhippedafterbeingrobbed,"hesaid.Followingdemocraticreformin1959,Tsetenandhisfamily,togetherwithanotherhousehold,movedfromthesheeppentothemanorowner'sroomsonthesecondfloorofthemanor.Hisfamilywasallocatedfarmland,oneheadofcattle,adonkeyandsevensheep.Thankstothereform,Tsetenwasabletogotoschoolattheageof15and,aftergraduatingfromhighschool,hereturnedhometofarm.Now,Xizangisthefirstprovincial-levelregioninChinatoprovide15yearsofpublicly-fundededucationfromkindergartentoseniorhighschool,astarkcontrasttothesituationsevendecadesagowhenaccesstoeducationwaslimitedtothenobility.In2003,Tseten'sfamilymovedtoahilloppositetheoldmanorandbuilta90-square-meterhouse.Threeyearslater,withasubsidyof10,000yuanprovidedbyShannan'shousingproject,thehousewasexpandedintoavillaofabout230squaremetersinsize.Tsetenlivesonthesecondfloorwithoneofhisdaughters,whilehisson-in-law,amigrantworkeremployedoutsidethecounty,earnsmorethan30,000yuanayear.OneofTseten'ssonsbecameadoctorinahospitalinShannanaftergraduatingfromcollege.Despitehisage,Tsetenisingoodhealth.Helikestakingcareoftheplantsonhisbalcony,watchingalmosteveryculturalperformanceorganizedinhisvillageandeventravelingtotheregionalcapitalLhasatovisithisrelativesandexplore."Iamluckytowitnesssuchanewerainthisregion,"saidTseten,addingthathealsoreceivesamonthlypensionof260yuan,whilehishospitalbillsforminoreyeandstomachproblemsaremostlycoveredbypublichealthcare.Accordingtoawhitepaperissuedin2023,atotalof3.43millionpeoplewerecoveredbybasicmedicalinsuranceinthisregion,morethan95percentofthetotalpopulationthere.Nyidron,Tseten'sgranddaughter,isafreshmanatFujianNormalUniversityinthecoastalprovinceofFujianineastChina,aplaceherfamilyhadneverbeentobefore.Nyidronreturnshomeduringthewinterandsummervacations.Shesaidsheusedtogototheoldmanorinsummertoescapetheheat,stargazingontherooftopandmarvelingatthetwinklinglightsofvillagesinthedistance.Shecanstillrecallherdeepsorrowwhenshefirstsawthedarkwalls,stairsandpillarsoftheoldmanor."Themanorremindedmeofthesufferingofmygrandfatherinthepast.Thosemiserabledaysarenowgone,butIwillalwaysrememberthem,"saidNyidron.Enditem(XinhuacorrespondentsKelsangPaljor,TenzingNimaQadhupandWeiGuanyucontributedtothestory.)Tseten'sgranddaughterservesacupofbutterteaforTsetenathomeinQonggyaiCountyinShannan,southwestChina'sXizangAutonomousRegion,Feb.22,2024.(Xinhua/TenzingNimaQadhup)TsetentendstohisplantsathomeinQonggyaiCountyinShannan,southwestChina'sXizangAutonomousRegion,Feb.22,2024.(Xinhua/TenzingNimaQadhup)Tseten(L)andhisfamilymembersenjoysomesnacksathomeinQonggyaiCountyinShannan,southwestChina'sXizangAutonomousRegion,Feb.22,2024.(Xinhua/TenzingNimaQadhup)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.