Namgyel Dorje (R) talks to his granddaughter in Chaqi Township, Zhanang County, Shannan City of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 5, 2021. Namgyel Dorje, 83, led an arduous life before the democratic reform in Tibet. He started to work at a serf owner's manor since his early childhood, constantly beaten even for slight tardiness. Bare-footed all year long, Namgyel Dorje had no extra cloth but the piece he was already in, and he had to trade an entire day of hard labor for a handful of zanba (a traditional rice cake) cooked with literally no oil in it. Along with tens of thousands of other serfs, Namgyel Dorje embarked on a new life of dignity after the democratic reform in Tibet in 1959. He was finally freed and received farm land and animals from the local government. "Today, I can eat and wear whatever I like, along with pension from the government," said Namgyel Dorje, "and I would expect nothing more." (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
