Former serf lives peaceful life after democratic reform

Dro Dra (R) wipes his tractor at home in Xigaze of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 20, 2021. Dro Dra, an 85-year-old villager in Xigaze, was once a serf in old Tibet. Back to the old time, despite the hard work all year round,Dro Dra's family could not have a grain of highland barley they grew for themselves. Year after year, they struggled in a vicious circle of borrowing food, paying taxes to the lord and returning food. "Boiling water requires firewood, but every grass and tree in the manor belongs to the lord. If we were found picking firewood, we would be beaten," recalled Dro Dra sadly. All the misery ended for Dro Dra after a democratic reform liberated more than 1 million people, or 90 percent of the population of the region at that time, from the feudal serfdom in 1959. Dro Dra clearly remembered the night when his family got beef and mutton from the lord's warehouse they lit a bonfire and danced while cooking. He could not help shedding tears at the first bite of the meat that night. Nowadays, Dro Dra lives in a beautiful and bright two-story Tibetan-style house, with six trucks and tractors parking in the yard. His family's annual income is about 200,000 yuan (about 30,542 U.S. dollars). Under the care of his children, Dro Dra doesn't need to worry about his life anymore, and he is happy he can finally live a peaceful life at his old age. (Xinhua/Zhang Rufeng)