Xizang residents applaud development achievements since 60 years ago

Residents attending a grand gathering at the Potala Palace square in Lhasa in celebration of the 60th founding anniversary of the Xizang Autonomous Region on Thursday applauded the development results achieved over the past six decades.

Many participants expressed their joy over the region's development and the achievements made with support from the central government.

"Now, every village has access to roads and television broadcast, and gets the latest news. Education is free from kindergarten all the way to primary school," said a resident named De Qing.

"Last year, there was an earthquake in Dingri County and that place is really remote. But with the help of the central government, the people there have moved into spacious new homes," said another resident named Tsering Lam.

"With the launch of construction of the extra-large hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, as well as the establishment of the Xinjiang-Xizang railway company this year, I believe that Xizang's development has the advantage of building momentum gradually and achieving significant results," said Yu Kun, a Xizang resident.

"I came from a small county in Lhasa. Eventually, I graduated from Peking University. So, for me, I came from the mountains and got to a broader stage. Now, I have returned to Lhasa, serving my hometown," said resident Baimameodo.

The Xizang Autonomous Region was founded in September 1965, after the establishment of the regional People's Congress, the local legislature, through elections.

Over the past six decades, Xizang has made historic breakthroughs in its economic and social development.

The region's GDP totaled 276.5 billion yuan (38.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 -- 155 times that in 1965. Xizang's average life expectancy has reached 72.5 years, against 35.5 years in the 1950s. Notably, the region has eliminated millennia-old absolute poverty and become a moderately prosperous society in all respects alongside the rest of the nation.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.