Across China: Once-isolated Himalayan village in Xizang opens up to new prospects

LHASA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A bamboo-splitting knife resting by his foot, Xin Xiangdong, 51, deftly runs his fingers through soaked bamboo strips, weaving them into shape, sometimes even using his teeth to pull a strand tight.

Seated in his own courtyard, Xin practices the craft that generations in Badeng village, Medog County, have relied on to make a living. The village, home to the Monba ethnic group, lies deep within the towering Himalayas in Xizang Autonomous Region, long isolated from the outside world.

"Bamboo weaving has always been at the heart of life here," Xin said. "It gave our village its name and has provided our livelihood for as long as anyone can remember." In the Monba language, Badeng means "straight vine bamboos."

Harvested from the lush, humid forests that embrace the village, bamboo taught Xin what it meant to "live off the mountains." Yet for much of his life, that phrase meant backbreaking toil. "Farming and grazing barely sustained us. To trade for necessities, we had to carry bamboo products on our backs and climb out of the mountains," he recalled.

At 16, Xin made his first journey out of the mountains with his handmade bamboo products. The round trip from the village to another township took eight days. When he unloaded the cargo of flour, oil, and barley he traded for, he realized for the first time how difficult it was to "live off the mountains."

"The mountains gave us bamboo, but ferrying the products out was incredibly hard. The paths were narrow trails, and when we encountered rivers, we had to resort to zip lines or makeshift wooden bridges. It was exhausting and dangerous," he said.

When villagers gathered to chat, their favorite topic was a long-held dream: roads that would one day allow trucks to carry their bamboo products out of the mountains, Xin Sheng, the 55-year-old Party secretary of Badeng Village, recalled.

Then, in 2013, the Medog Highway opened, improving connectivity. Gradually, every village in Medog was linked to the network.

The previously "isolated island" began to draw visitors. Bamboo products became souvenirs sold at villagers' doorsteps. Daily supplies once hauled in on foot now filled the shelves of the village grocery. Conversation in Badeng shifted from longing for roads to dreaming of a new life.

In 2021, Badeng Village was relocated as a whole further down the hillside to a more accessible location with modern infrastructure. With the road came tourists, drawn by the Himalayan vistas and rich Monba culture, and with them, a new chapter for "living off the mountains" was ushered in.

"Now tourists come for the scenery and the culture, and our bamboo sells better than ever," Xin Xiangdong said. "Some villagers run homestays, others open small restaurants serving local flavors, and the village even has a well-stocked grocery store. We've got more than one stream of income, and a better-off life."

On the popular Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Rednote, tourists from across the country shared their visits to the picturesque village, fun experiences bathing in nearby thermal springs, and an expedition to the former village seat of Badeng.

According to data, the total income of Badeng Village residents reached over 8 million yuan (about 1.15 million U.S. dollars) in 2025, with sales of bamboo products and other local specialties, as well as tourism-related income from catering and accommodation, exceeding 2 million yuan.

"In the past, 'living off the mountains' meant surviving on hard labor. Now, 'living off the mountains' means thriving on lush mountains and pristine waters through tourism revenue," Xin Xiangdong said. ■