Lian Xiangmin, director of the Institute of Contemporary Tibetan Studies, says it has been a challenge for Tibetan people to keep up with the pace of development. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Some 700,000 people live in absolute poverty with an income of less than 2,300 yuan ($345; 307 euros) a year.

"Most of those who are impoverished are farmers and herdsmen. There is a huge disparity between those who live in urban and rural areas. They've got no problem with food but they don't have any money," he says.

"Many of the people don't look poor. They often live in decent houses. They also have access to healthcare and education because it is free in Tibet. They just lack any cash."

Lian, 53, was speaking in his office in the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing, China's leading institution for the study of the autonomous region.

He says one of the problems with the debate about Tibet's development is that it is always couched as a clash between preserving its culture and modernization.

"I do not think that is right to set modernity and development in complete opposition to preserving tradition. Although Tibetan residents still mostly live a traditional farming life, they still absorb some external culture and accept some modern ways of living," he says.

"I think most Tibetan people see it that way also. They want to preserve the roots of their tradition but they also want to move on and have better lives."

Lian says one of the problems with the debate about Tibet is that the real situation is not always fairly presented.

"I think people are misled by a lot of misreporting in the Western media. Some reporters have never ever been to Tibet.

"They hold the view that the exiled Dalai Lama represents Tibet but he hasn't been there for nearly 60 years. I believe that only the people who really live there should have a say about their life and their choices."

Lian was a participant in the recent Forum on the Development of Tibet held in Lhasa, which attracted representatives of the media, academia and think tanks from more than 30 countries.

"I think it was a quite important exercise. Attendees had first hand experience of Lhasa so they can see for themselves the real situation in Tibet. When the attendees go back to their home countries they can relay what they have seen and experienced."

Lian says development in the autonomous region is often a more subtle process than many people imagine.

He recounts the story of an elderly woman called Lhundrup Tsomo from Chundui, a village in Linzhou county, who he first encountered in 2002.

She was an impoverished farmer but her fortunes were transformed not by some external modernization strategy but by the fact her daughter married someone who had spent some time outside of the village.

"It wasn't that far away either but she had picked up some knowledge of a modern way of living. When I first met the lady, whenever she had money she would spend it. She didn't know how to manage money and invest it in the farm.

"The family has been of particular research interest to us and when I returned in 2014 their living conditions were much improved. The son-in-law had built a new house with several rooms and they had a ground floor for raising livestock."

Lian, who is of the Tujia minority from Hunan province, studied history at Fudan University in Shanghai.

He first encountered Tibet when he did his master's at Peking University in the late 1980s.

"It was then I first really got to know Tibet. I majored in ancient Chinese history, where I paid particular attention to the Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang (AD 618-907) dynasties," he recalls.

"Tibet was then named Tubo and it was a kingdom that coexisted with the Tang Dynasty, with which it had very friendly relations."

After his master's he became editor of the China Tibetology Publishing House, which is part of the China Tibetology Research Center, in 1985.

He has since held a number of positions, being appointed to his current role in 2012.

While at the center he has also done a doctorate in the Department of Ethnology at the Chinese Academy for Social Science in Beijing.

Lian says he has witnessed great changes since he first visited Tibet in 1992.

"When I walked on the streets for the first time, there was an incredible number of dogs everywhere. They have all gradually disappeared. You also have had a major improvement in the state of the temples. There are signs of development everywhere."

The academic insists that such speed of development has obviously raised a number of issues and that local society has often found it difficult to keep pace.

"Obviously people are quite satisfied with a more highly abundant material lifestyle. On the other hand, society has become more commercial. People have become more sophisticated in making money for the sake of it," he says.

"When we went to a villager's home, there was always a show of great hospitality and enthusiasm. We were treated to food and drink without being asked for money. Now, even little kids who offer to take pictures for you charge you."

Lian is the first to acknowledge the Chinese government is committed to preserving the traditional culture of Tibet while at the same time advancing reform.

"Tibetan culture is unique and it is very precious and not only cherished by the Tibetan people but the whole nation. If there is any divergence in the debate about Tibet, it is how to achieve this."

He says that Tibetan people themselves often seem conflicted about development issues and specific projects, citing the redevelopment of Barkhor Street, an ancient circular thoroughfare around Jokhang Temple in the center of Lhasa, in 2013.

"Before the project started there were a number of protests from local people in Lhasa who did not agree with it. After it was completed, they all spoke highly of it.

"There was also an issue during the construction of a sewer system in the city. People strongly disagreed with that also, although there was no existing system. When it was completed, people thought it was good."

Lian says it is the scale of the funding the autonomous region has received that has been transformational.

"There are several major government policies that have directly benefited Tibet and have involved the transfer of large amounts of money from the exchequer, particularly to improve infrastructure," he says.

He believes tourism is one industry that could hold the key to development. He welcomes the establishment of modern vocational schools in Lhasa training young people in hotel and catering skills.

"Tibet is a world famous tourism spot and it needs a lot of people with the right skills to take advantage of this. More importantly, it moves people from the poorer rural areas to the urban centers where they can have higher wages."

Zhang Zhaoqing, Zheng Jinqiang and Wang Keju contributed to this story.

andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/30/2016 page8)