He said that now， Tibet was in it's best time in history， as so many leaders and people from inland are paying great attention to it and supporting it. It was sheer bliss for all Tibetans. Hearing his words， I looked up to the blue sky and the Potala Palace which was bathing in the warm sun. A smiling boy toddled past us， followed by an old woman stooping and happily saying something to him with a hand reaching out to ensure his safety.
I don't understand her Tibetan， but I couldn't feel happier about everything I've seen.
Fresh Apples Could Be Reached from Every Household Window
In November， 1946， Tashi was born in Duoma Village in Rutog County. Located in the grazing district， families here were scarcely dispersed many kilometers away from each other.
Tashi was the eldest of nine children in his family， of which only seven survived.
Tashi's earliest memory was the story of the bandits and the Red Han.
One day， Tashi was listening to the sermon of a lama with his parents in the summer pasture located along the river valley， when word came that Usman bandits were riding from Hotan in Xinjiang to Rutog. Everyone fled uphill with hordes of yaks， sheep and horses. After hiding for several days， nothing happened， so they started moving back to the pasture. On their way back， they ran into a group of bandits， who intended no harm but to exchange the livestock they robbed elsewhere for new ones from local herdsmen.
Due to the long trudge， the livestock had become thin and weak as the bandits could barely take good care of themselves. The bandits exchanged a thin sheep for a fat one， a weak horse for a strong one and an emaciated camel for a good horse from the herdsmen. Before they left， they told the herdsmen to flee east rather than south. It was later known that these bandits mainly appeared in the East， while another group of bandits looted the South and raped every woman they came across. People could find turquoise and red coral that women used to decorate their head scattered on the grass.
Several days later， they heard that the Red Han had come. "Red Han" is a vague label used by Tibetans to designate the Chinese Red Army and the Han people.
The Red Han hurried from Xinjiang to Zhama Manbo， located in Gêrzê County of northern Tibet， where the advance force led by Li Disan was stationed， however Li was already dead by that time. An Zhiming， the commander-in-chief of the Red Army's follow-up units， led his subordinates and every walking soldier of the advance force to execute missions elsewhere. Those who remained in Zhama Manbo were all weak or disabled soldiers.
When bandits raided， the soldiers were too weak to stand up straight or to ride a horse. They had to bind each other to the horses' backs. They whipped the horses and shot with rifles when chasing the bandits. It was a freezing， windy night with a clear moon and bleak stars. The bandits were finally driven away； however some soldiers died on horseback， and their corpses were laid stiff and frozen. Some others returned with frostbite in their feet or legs， ears or noses， leading to permanent disability.
The Red Han drove away the bandits， rounded up thousands of stolen livestock， and left them to be claimed by the herdsmen. As soon as the herdsmen stood before the livestock， those disorderly yaks， sheep and horses recognized their owners and crowded around them. The news spread like wildfire until it was known to everyone in northern Tibet. The Tibetans celebrated by killing their livestock and drinking， hailing the Red Han as a savior Bodhisattva.
Later， the lama told them these Red Han were called the Communist Army.
When the snow line rose， ice thawed and snow melted， the little shepherd Tashi would see a long line of camel convoys winding from Xinjiang to Gartok. The knowledgeable lama told him that the Communist Army was transporting supplies to officers and soldiers garrisoned in Ngari.
When Tashi was seven years old， he began to herd lambs， and at the age of nine he could herd sheep. At that time， there were six people in his family， including his parents and four children， as the other siblings had not yet been born. The household had twenty-three sheep and three yaks. When yoghurt and meat were not enough， father would hunt some wild yaks， kiangs， Tibetan antelopes and argalis. The capture was only enough for them to eat and not enough to store.
At the age of twelve， Tashi herded for families that had too many livestock and were short of labor. The grazing lasted from one or two months to half a year. The host family provided food and accommodation and paid Tashi's family two or three liters of qingke every month.
When Tashi was young， he slept in the tent with his parents. At that time， every household only had one tent， so there was no space when family members grew in number. Tashi had to sleep in the sheepfold after he started herding， and only went into the tent when eating. A single leather robe was used as clothing when herding in the daytime and as a quilt when he curled up to sleep in the sheepfold at night. The boots were his pillow， in which Tashi put some sheep droppings to level it up if it was not high enough. Actually， it felt very warm to sleep with the sheep， and he could see numerous stars and the crystal-like crescent or bright full moon. Upon waking， his surroundings were pure white and snow covered him. With several blinks of the eyes， the snowflakes on his lashes would fall. After shaking off the snow covering his body and head， Tashi put his numb hand below the sheep's belly to warm himself up before rounding them out of the fold to go on herding. If it happened to rain， the droppings would get wet and stink. Tashi couldn't sing nice songs lying on wet droppings.
