Visitors look at Tibetan costumes at the 5th China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Sun Fei)
Sichung Drolma, a saleswoman of a cashmere product company in Ngari Prefecture in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, was introducing her products to customers at the 5th China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo.
The expo, held from June 16 to 18, is one of the most important events on Tibet's cultural calendar.
Nearly 1,500 km from Lhasa, the Ngari Prefecture is often dubbed the "roof" of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world." With the continuous improvement of transportation facilities in Tibet, the once-remote place has also been integrated into the domestic and international markets.
In recent years, Sichung Drolma and her colleagues have traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and other places many times to reach out for business and investigate the market.
Since the beginning of this year, Sichung Drolma has sold her products at different trade fairs across the country. She said that at the Canton Fair in south China's Guangdong Province, the cashmere products from Ngari were welcomed by consumers at home and abroad, which helped boost the company's confidence in exploring domestic and foreign markets, and expand income channels for farmers and herdsmen.
"Ngari's cashmere sweaters and shawls are sold all over the country, and our wool has also been exported to South Asia," she said.
Highland barley is an essential staple for the Tibetan people. In 2018, Losang Tsering founded a brewery with highland barley craft beer as its main product.
At this year's expo, he brought six products developed in recent years to the exhibition hall. He said that Western countries are very interested in highland barley growing on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and his dream of selling highland barley malt around the world is being realized step by step.
Villagers harvest highland barley in Zijin township of Gyangze County in Xigaze, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhou Jinshuai)
For a long time, farmers and herdsmen in Tibet had been affected by inconvenient transportation due to the remote location. They found it difficult to buy necessities and sell their local specialties. In recent years, the region has improved the supply and marketing cooperative system and has further helped farmers and herdsmen to explore the market.
Fifty supply and marketing cooperative organizations from Tibet's agricultural and pastoral areas brought about 300 kinds of distinctive local products, such as wooden bowls and handicrafts, to the expo.
The region has made great efforts to upgrade infrastructure in border areas, continuously expand border trade, and deepen cooperation with neighboring countries and regions.
This year's expo was held online and offline, and the number of foreign exhibitors increased. Sixty enterprises from 16 countries, including Nepal, India, Vietnam, Iran, Italy, and Australia, brought 630 kinds of goods to the expo. Deals on 60 projects with a total value of over 53 billion yuan (about 7.44 billion U.S. dollars) were signed on Saturday at the expo.
