Anchor: Dramatic reforms 50 years ago lifted the population of Tibet out of theocratic serfdom. The reforms also introduced many opportunities to Tibetans to build a better life for themselves. Tsamchu Drolma used to be a herdswoman, but now she's the director of an authoritative publication on Tibetan studies. Her life experiences have proved that as long as one is diligent and hardworking, a person can direct their own destiny in a new Tibet. Our reporter Zhang Wan has her story.

Reporter: Stepping into Tsamchu Drolma's office in Lhasa, I felt a little awkward, as if I was interrupting her work. Although is was the weekend, she still had to check many articles that were going to be published.

But her sincere smile allayed my anxiety. It was a smile that can only come from someone who has lived long in harmony with nature.

"I come from the Ali grassland area of Tibet, and my family belongs to the nomads. We moved at least four times a year."

Tsamchu comes from a traditional family of herdsmen. Her parents used to graze livestock.

Tsamchu was born soon after serfdom was abolished in Tibet in 1959. Her family continued its nomadic lifestyle and did farm work while she was still a child. She recalls that they were not prosperous.

"We didn't have any stable income at that time. My mother weaved wool into our clothes, and my father made shoes of cowhide. We ate the sheep or cows we raised."

Living in a remote area without a stable family income, going to school was a luxury for Tsamchu and her seven siblings. But as the government began to stress the importance of education and popularized nine-year compulsory education throughout the country, Tsamchu had an opportunity to learn for free.

She studied very diligently and had a simple wish.

"My mother used to live very simply because we were not rich. I wished that through my hard work I could find a good job, earn a satisfactory salary, and buy them anything they wanted. I wanted to buy my parents a house in their hometown, Ali."

With her goal in mind, Tsamchu studied very hard. She grabbed every opportunity she could and finally entered a university in Beijing to study Tibetan literature. After graduation, she got a job at the Academy of Social Sciences in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where she continued to study English. And in 1995, she was chosen as a representative to the World Conference on Women.
Tsamchu says she was very happy to show the other representatives what a Tibetan woman was like.

"I attended the meeting both as a representative and an interpreter. And I wanted to show that in the new Tibet, a herdswoman from a remote area like me could have the chance to learn whatever I wanted and attend such an important meeting with people from all over the world. I was very proud to tell them that in Tibet now, as long as you are diligent enough, you can have the same opportunities as I had."

When the government started to invest in rural construction in Tibet, Tsamchu realized her dream of buying her parents a house with the government subsidizing half the cost.

She says she is very pleased that her siblings' lives in Ali have improved greatly.

"Now their lives as herdsmen are much better than before. What they produce all belongs to them. Sometimes they also do farming and don't worry about the food. They also take some free courses organized by the local government in their spare time."

Tsamchu says she was lucky to be born during the new Tibet which has given her many opportunities to live her own life.

Zhang Wan, CRI news, Lhasa.