Riding on a dark horse, Natso relaxed on the grassland in Banyou village, in Ruo'ergai county, Sichuan province.What was conspicuous was the portable satellite TV set on the back of the other horse next to him.

 

"The TV set receives programs from more than 50 channels. Some of the programs are in Tibetan. The set is solar-powered, and its fully charged battery can last the night," the 30-year-old herdsman said in Tibetan with a timid smile.

 

His family of four is one of the 246 households in Banyou village, each of which received a free TV set from the government last year.

 

"Giving TV sets to herdsmen is part of the Herdsmen Settlement Action Plan implemented in Sichuan's Tibetan areas," said Luo Cuo, a 29-year-old deputy chief of Banyou township, which has administrative jurisdiction over Banyou village.

 

The Tibetan areas in Sichuan consist of 18 counties in the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture, 13 counties in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, and the Muli Tibetan autonomous county.

 

Covering 247,900 square km, Sichuan's Tibetan areas, which are China's second-largest Tibetan-inhabited areas, have a population of 1.87 million people, 1.24 million of whom are Tibetans.

 

Because of harsh natural conditions on the plateau and backwards means of production for a long time, people were poor in the Tibetan areas.

 

"Herdsmen in Banyou village used to live in damp tents or simple houses built of wood year-round. They would fill the gap between the wooden houses with droppings of yaks. Because of poor living conditions, many of them suffered from rheumatic diseases," said Gytso, a 52-year-old resident of Banyou village.

 

To improve the living conditions of its Tibetan people, Sichuan initiated a plan in February 2009 that aims to construct 1,409 settlements in 29 counties, which will provide fixed residences for 500,000 herdsmen in 100,000 households in four years with an investment of 18 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).

 

"Construction of fixed residences made of bricks and cement for 91,969 households has been basically 

completed, accounting for 92.65 percent of all the residences to be built. Construction of 1,243 settlements and auxiliary public facilities has been completed," said Hao Yuenan, deputy chief of the information office of the Sichuan provincial government.

 

Along with the building of fixed residences have been distributed to 40,000 solar-powered digital satellite TV sets for herdsmen.

 

"They can be placed both at home and on the back of yaks, so the herdsmen can bid farewell to dull routines while pasturing. In the past, we did not know what was happening outside because we had no access to electricity or TV sets," Natso said.

 

With 808 hectares of grassland, Ruo'ergai has a strong appeal to tourists."The number of tourists has risen from 400,000 to 1 million in recent years," said Wang Zha, deputy Party chief of Ruo'ergai county.

 

"The influx of tourists has increased the income of herdsmen in fixed residences, as Ruo'ergai does not have many hotels," he said.

 

Khapatar, a 68-year-old herdsman in Lingga village, Ruo'ergai, has turned his nine empty rooms into hotel rooms that generate more than 1,000 yuan a day in the peak travel season in summer.

 

"His success story has motivated more herdsmen to follow suit, turning idle rooms into hotel rooms," said Tsering Drolma, an official in the Dazasi township government, which has Lingga under its administration. 
 

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