Septuagenarian Lhaqion

　　Pagri, found at the highest elevation of any town in the world, sits on the vast Pagri Grasslands to the south of Qomolharab, the 7th highest peak in the Himalayas.

　　Septuagenarian Lhaqion, who has lived on the grasslands his entire life, has three sons and two daughters. All of the children are married. According to local tradition, the elderly father should live with his youngest son named Wanggyai. 　However, Wangyai works as a veterinarian in the town and Lhaqion lives with son Nyima, a herdsman.

　　Nyima, 40, and his family of six share a large tent with Lhaqion, an elderly man who now spends a great deal of time twisting wool and caring for his grandchildren.

　　"I lost my parents when I was only eight," recalled the elderly man as he watched his happy grandchildren talking with their parents. "I worked as a house servant for a wealthy local family, and as a herdsman when turning 13."

　　"I received the owner's consent and married a Sagya girl who was 23 years old. We had four children before 1959. They were all born slaves."

　　"Upon order from the owner, Lhaqion and his family went herding in Sikkim in 1958 and didn't return until in 1963. During this period, Pagri had experienced great changes following the Democratic Reform in 1959 and we were no longer slaves."

　　In 1985, the local government introduced the state policy granting herdsmen the right to own livestock. Nyima had signed contract to raise 15 yaks and now owns 35 head. He also raised 89 yaks fro other people. Each day, Nyima collects a dozen containers of milk for both family consumption and making of butter and other easily preservable dairy products.

　　Oldest son Purbo, 50, has eight children. He personally owns 30 yaks, and partially owns 70 additional yaks along with other people.
　　Lhaqion's eldest daughter, the second child, is 48 years old and has four children. Her oldest son works as a projectionist at the Yadong County Cinema, and the family raises over 100 yaks and earns some 10,000 yuan per year.

　　Lhaqion finds it hard to believe that his family now owns close to 400 yaks, a quite different situation when compared to their former life as slaves.

　　Pagri, a bustling city and the headquarters of the local district government, has been a transport hub and commerical center in Tibet since ancient times. The Pagri of today features radio and TV relay stations, primary and middle schools, a post office and numerous stores.

　　Nyima journeys to Pagri every 15 days to deliver butter and dairy products to his seven partners, most of whom are farmers and traders. Nyima receives 24 yuan for raising each head of yak for others, and is party to an oral agreement calling for the delivery of butter and dairy products to his partners every 15 days. Nyima makes 8,000 yuan per year from raising yaks and his share of business conducted in the town.

　　Lhaqion, a house servant and herdsman for his owner for 40 years, can neither read nor write and can only recite the SixSyllable Prayer: Om Mani Pad-me Hum. Nonetheless, the elderly smiles broadly at seeing his children have gained affluence resulting from the tide of reform and opening.

　　Nyima often breaks into song before dinner, with the words of one song reading:

　　The enchanting beauty of blooming flowers in summer is truly enticing;

　　I'd truly love to see a blooming flower in winter!

　　One is as strong as a mountain when young.

　　I wish my father a long life.