Caravan Transport Business Flourish in Medog

By Pan Haiping & Norbu Cering

In a summer morning, we were awakened by shouts: “There comes the business caravan from Medog!”

We rubbed our sleepy eyes but saw nothing. Minutes later, we heard ringing bells sending out of distant forests.

Staying in this tinny place called Nyijor skirted by the Parlung Zangbo River in east Tibet, we were covering local developments. The inn where we stayed provides with a good view of distant mountains. Before long, we saw a fully loaded caravan emerging from the forests.

Some 30 horses led by small donkeys moved toward us along a cliff path scented by blossoming azaleas. Walking in front of or by the caravan were young men. Carrying large knives on backs or by waists, they wore hats and Tibetan robes. Some of them were donned in Western suits. Beaming with broad smiles, they chatted and sang to express their satisfaction over good business.

The Medog Highway was built with State investments. During the snowing season, the highways closes and opens only between early July and early September. During the snow-smelting season, people of the Moinba, Lhoba and Tibetan ethnic groups organize caravans out of Medog. They cross mountains peaks each with an elevation of over 5,000 meters to purchase tea, salt, cooking oil, garments and other daily necessities for the next round of closing period.

The caravan stopped over in front of the inn where we stayed. They had just returned from Zham. “We went to/from Zham four or five times a year during the snow-melting season,” explained Badian, the caravan leader.

According to Badian, the trips were often threatened by tigers, bears and poisonous snakes in the primitive forests. “We stay in posts by the road,” Badian added.

“These posts are actually made-shift shelters or just sky-scraping trees. We tie our bags of animal feed and food we need when we return around piles in front of the posts or the trees.

“According to the local rules, one never takes animal feed or food left there by others even his supply is cut short. When he has to take, he will leave behind a note of explanation.

“I began to do the transport business some 40 years ago. I was 15 then. During this period, I have been leaving foot at the posts for use during returns, and I lost mine only once: I left the feed and food at a too low place with the result that they were consumed by bears,” added Soinam, elder brother of Badian.

Mountains separating Medog from the outside world retain their height. However, a 140-km highway has been built in 1994 with State investments to the tune of 150 million yuan. However, as this area is in the grip of frequent earthquakes of eight Richter degrees and exposed to avalanches and mud-stone flow, the highway reaches only to Yarlung Sumdo, 80 km from Zham.

Exploiting the fact that Yalung Sumdo is 64 km away from Medog, the locals organized caravan transportation. According to the inn manager, Wangzha with Karbo Town, Medog County, has been making up to 20,000 yuan a year for years.

“He owns a dozen horses,”added the inn manager. “With money thus made, he has set up inns at the foot of the Karbo Mountain and even a power station. This facilitates the locals and passers-by, and helps him make over 40,000 yuan a year. He has also purchased a truck to shuttle between his hometown to Lhasa.”

CARAVANS IN MEDOG

East Tibet teems with high moutains and deep ravines.Cliffs were linked with dangling suspension rattan bridges or snaking paths.Any fall from the paths means deaths.

Before departure,rituals are held to pray for good luck and safety.Older people burn incenses by the roadside and recite sutras,and toast the heroes.

As donkeys tell road already traversed,each caravan includes a donkey.the fact inflates the price of donkeys to the point that they are more expensive than horses,costing some 6,000 yuan apiese.

In the past,however,people in Medog were too poor to own enough horses and donkeys.Medog people had to carry materials they had bartered or purchased for themseives and their masters as wall.Driven by dire poverty,some crossed hugh mountains and deep ravines hare-footed.And many were killed by avalanche,mud-rock flow and hoghway men.

In the early 1980s,like other parts of tibet,medog followed the State policy of disributing domestic animals to farmers and herders,a policy which the Central Govemment says will remain unchanged for a prolonged period of time to come.And farmers and herders were not to pay taxes.As a result,the local people are able to form caravens to do the transport business.

Caravan trasporation proves to be a boon for their family economy.A case in point is tudain with the Gedang Town who sells medicinal herbs in Lhasa and Qamdo,marking some 30,000 yuan a year.

Doing Business Outside the Grasslands

By Pan Haiping & Norbu Cering

Having been living in tents since childhood, Dainzin felt solid, firm, safe and naturally satisfactory with living in a house complete with a large courtyard.

Lying in bed, he enjoyed with great taste the din of truck horns, street peddling and KaraOke songs.

Dainzin was a herder a dozen years ago in the grasslands some 100 km away from Qamdo. Seeing others making money by doing business, he sold his sheep and cows for funds needed for the purchase of Chinese caterpillar fungus, which he sold in Chengdu. With money thus made in Chengdu, he purchased articles for daily use and had them transported back to Tibet. He peddled these merchandises village by village.

When the Chinese caterpillar fungus was not available, he gathered butter, mutton and beef from herders for sale in the farming area, where he collected qingke barley and wheat back to the livestock breeding area.

Dainzin said he was making tens of thousands yuan a year, and over the years he had accumulated a house property to the tune of hundreds of thousands of yuan.

Dainzin,s sons also do the transport business. Eight years ago, they bought the two-storey house in Qamdo at a cost of 135,000 yuan. Built with granite, the house is furnished with color TV sets, a refrigerator and a videotape corder, and is complete with telephone service to various parts of China.

“Living in Qamdo is good for children education and also for my business, as we have convenient access to information services,” said Dainzin.

“Since we have a house, we find it easy to get bank loans. Not long ago, the local bank loaned us 160,000 yuan for expanded business.”

According to Dainzin, there are some 50 households who moved to Qamdo from the grasslands. “And Qamdo is only one of the eight counties in the surrounding area which have attract people like me to settle down,” added Dainzin.