Back to Gamdeling

The Township Village of Gamdeling is situated in District Naiqung， County of Doilungdeqen， Lhasa. It is the place where I began to establish a relationship with Tibet.

Half a Century’s Concern and Remembrance

In the early spring of 1963， as a junior student majoring in Tibetan at the Department of Minority Languages and Literature in the Central College for Nationalities， I set foot in Tibet for the fi rst time. The fi rst place I saw was the Township Village of Gamdeling， where I went to work with the liberated serfs who were undergoing a democratic reform. I helped set up grass roots political power. Being together day and night， I studied Tibetan with them and taught singing to children in the primary school. There， I learned to recite Tsangyang Gyatso’s poem， On the Peak of the Eastern Mountain， from which the wellknown name “Makye-ame” comes.

Since July 20， 1963， the day on which I departed， I have had no opportunity to return to Gamdeling. These years， by radio， newspaper and internet， I got to know that a famous vegetable and fl ower producers’cooperative was built in Gamdeling. I can collect hundreds of reports about Gamdeling on line. The news makes me excited， because I know Gamdeling is going forward with Tibet. How about my old Tibetan friends？ How about their life now？ Who are even still alive？

On August 30， 2011， on the occasion of a short business trip to Lhasa while accompanied by a friend， I stepped on the land again.

Tenzin Wodrup’s Vegetable Greenhouse

Across the bridge over Tohlung Chu of the Lhasa River， we entered the area of Gamdeling. For me， everything was so familiar but yet strange！

We stopped our car in front of a building with the sign of “Vegetable and Flower Exhibition and Trade Center of the Gamdeling Farmers’Vegetable Cultivation Cooperative， the County of Doilungdeqen”. By the gate there was a stall selling local watermelons. Having taken some pictures， we drove northwards into the district of the vegetable greenhouses， intending to fi nd a local and ask the way. It took fi ve or six minutes for our car to circle around the area， from which， we can see how big the district was.

In time， I saw a middle-aged farmer with a bright T-shirt standing on the road. I got out and asked him about Tsering Dondrup. To my surprise， he was from Gamdeling and lived in the same Village of Chabka as Tsering Dondrup， and they were relatives！ The man’s name was Tenzin Wodrup. He promised to take us to call on Tsering Dondrup’s.

On both sides of the road that was straight， clean and paved with cement， there stood dozens of vegetable greenhouses in rows.

Into the one contracted by Tenzin Wodrup， we found his wife was busy with pruning and weeding the tomatoes. Inside the greenhouse， the temperature was high， and the air was fi lled with the fresh odor of tomatoes， beans and peppers. We were told that he had undertaken four greenhouses， and all were used to grow vegetables. His annual income was good.

Calling on Tsering Dondrup

Guided by Tenzin Wodrup， we went through the barley fi eld and came to Tsering Dondrup’s house. It was a harvest season so the ground was piled with golden barley stacks， which also gave out a fresh and sweet smell.

Tsering Dondrup’s house is a Tibetan courtyard with a typical Tibetan gate. Having carved beams， painted pillars and a yak-horn like roof， the house was a bright red. The one who came out to welcome us was Tsering Dondrup’s eldest daughter， Palbar. She told me that her father went to Lhasa for Shoton Festival and would not be back for two days. I was a little disappointed after this news， but in spite of it I entered the yard with excitement， as if going home. The yard was very clean and refreshing. There was a simmering mulberry stove， a hand well， a water tap， a kitchen， a storeroom and so on. What’s more， there was a motorcycle parked in the yard.

46 years ago， Tsering Dondrup’s house was very shabby. Nonetheless， it was my fi rst home in Tibet. Now the house before us was built a few years ago under “the Project for Comfortable Residence” scheme. Though the residents have been separated from their livestock now， Tibetans still keep the ancient tradition of building their house a little higher above the ground， which is not only good to avoid moisture， but also helps to give a far and high view， and makes the living rooms feel light and spacious. Before the new house there is a platform of about ten or twenty square meters. Actually， it is a parterre （a formal garden） with dozens of fl owers and plants in it. The parterre makes the yard lively and beautiful. The morning glory sprawls all over the wall. I could not help a happy sigh， half a century later， Tsering Dondrup fi nally lives a better life！

On a Tibetan cupboard there were many certifi cates and letters of merit. In fact， the eldest daughter， Palbar was the scientifi c special commissioner in the village. Another daughter was assigned to work in the County of Gar， Ngari Prefecture， after she graduated from the Tibetan College for Nationalities. His son was in Lhasa working as a security guard. All his children had gone to school and shown promise.

Palbar made butter tea for us and then she called Tsering Dondrup by cell phone. Upon the news that I was there， Tsering Dondrup was very happy and asked his daughter pass the phone to me at once.

Tsering Dondrup uses a cell phone now！ In 1963 when I fi rst came to Gamdeling， there was no radio， much less a telephone. When there was a meeting， we had to walk around and tell everyone individually. Without any means of communication， I had broken connections with Tsering Dondrup for nearly 30 years after I left Gamdeling. Though in 1997， I had had a short meeting with him during the time that I was sent to aid Tibet， but because he hadn’t a phone then， our contact was suspended for another time until after I returned to the mainland. I said to him on the phone： “Now， you have a cell phone， you won’t be lost any more， I can fi nd you at any time！” Then， the sound of his hearty laughter came to my ears from the other end.

Shake Hands with Tsering Dondrup

A week later， I called on Tsering Dondrup again for an appointment. As I got to the gate， his grandson said to me： “Pola （grandpa） went to the crossing to receive you.” Then， he called his grandfather and told him that the guest had arrived.

After a while， I saw an old man walking back along the village path. Judging the fi gure from my vague memory， I recognized him to be Tsering Dondrup. Though many years had passed， his image and sound remained familiar to me.

I strode forward for a few steps and soon we held our four hands tightly together. I asked him in pure Gamdeling Tibetan： “Long times no see， does everything go well with you？” He greeted me with the same words， and then said that he was afraid I wouldn’t be able to fi nd the house… so he went to the crossing ahead of time to receive me.

48 years ago， Tsering Dondrup was a liberated serf； vigorous， highspirited， and full of strength. I remember that he warmly took me home from the township village as soon as the accommodation arrangement was available. Across the fi eld and Lingkha （grassland with trees）， I walked into my fi rst home in Tibet. It was a typical Tibetan cottage， a prize given to Tsering Dondrup’s family by the democratic reform. The house had belonged to a serf owner’s agent. It was a stone building in two storeies. The lower storey was used to raise livestock and the upper was the owner’s living space. In the middle of the house there was a kitchen. That night， under the butter lamp， I had Thuba for the fi rst time beside the dung stove. Thuba is a tasty， watery paste with a little salt and some wild potherbs. From then on， gradually， I began to accept and adapt myself to the Tibetan lifestyle. I stuck to it until today. From that day， I also entered Tibet and started my life in Tibet， which lasted nearly for half a century. That day was March 12th， 1963.

A Lot Words to Convey and Much Scenery to See

Every time I met Tsering Dondrup， we had a lot to tell each other. Having learned that I would call on him， he asked his second daughter go milking before dawn and make sweet tea with fresh milk and butter tea with new butter. As we chatted， he peeled the freshly boiled potatoes and handed them to me， asking me eat one after another， as if he wanted to make up for all that I hadn’t eaten or drunk over all these years. Magically， the butter tea that day was very nice， and the potatoes， with a little salt， tasted very delicious. I had many cups of butter tea， and also the sweet milk tea that was specially prepared by my host.

Tsering Dondrup took me to look at the storeroom in the house. In the storeroom， every thing was placed in order. Rows of dried meat were hung from the ceiling. Chunks of butter were placed in basins on the fl oor. Over 20 bags of barley were stacked along the wall， a total of about 500 or 1000 kihgram. I remember， 40 years ago， Tsering Dondrup had only one Tsampa bag in the room， in which there was half a bag of Tsampa. In those years， many liberated serfs had little grain and had to accept the monthly relief and subsidy supported by the government. Tsering Dondrup told me that now they grinded barley and ate new Tsampa at any time they needed. He opened a delicate barrel fi lled up with Tsampa， a fresh fl avor sprayed fi lled the air immediately. I took a little and put it into my mouth. As expected， it tasted fi ne and smooth and bore a faint scent.

We climbed up the stairs to the top fl oor. The Tibetan house’s roof was fl at， and about 20 square meters. Standing on the roof， you could have a panoramic view of Chabka： There was a patch of gold in the fi eld， because the barley had been just harvested， and stacks of barley were piled on another. Around the stacks were Tibetan residences. Tsering Dondrup told me that all those houses were built according to “the Project for Comfortable Houses”， a policy implemented all over Tibet by the government. Most villagers had moved into their new houses. The project of “Communications among Villages” also made it possible for the common people to watch TV both in Tibetan and Chinese， and listen to Tibetan broadcasting from Tibet and Beijing.

A Chorus of “Little Hill like Gold Bottle ” with Ngodrup

As we chatted， I asked him how about the old primary school. Tsering Dondrup said that the school has been gone for a long time. The township village government had built a new one. I remember that in those years， we didn’t have desks and chairs in the school. All students sat on the ground， put a splate on their knees to practice writing Tibetan. Though the conditions were simple and crude then， the children were very absorbed in their studies. Carelessly， he mentioned that， in these days， there was a teacher， Ngodrup Dorje， who taught singing. He was still alive and sometimes sung the song， Little Hill Like Gold Bottle， which he had taught me. He inquired about me many times from Tsering Dondrup. Upon these words， I got excited and asked him take me to see Ngodrup at once.

Through rows of vegetable greenhouses， we walked into the old Rashika Village. On both sides of the road there were newly built houses. In the villager’s activity centre， many old people were playing cards and mahjong， and we could occasionally hear their laughter. From a quite far distance， Tsering Dondrup began to call Ngodrup’s name loudly. As we got to the gate was just in time to see an old man open the door. To my eyes， he was a modest and amiable old man. Seeing my face， he blurted out my name， grasped my hands and took me into the yard. Having entered the room， he gave me some butter tea and told me that since I left Gamdeling， he became a cadre in the township village government and had worked with Tsering Dondrup for many years. He had retired not so many years ago. Now， life was very good. He had whatever he wanted. Everyday he watched news on TV and knew what had happened in Tibet， in China and even the world. Recently， he was busy moving. He said that the new house was not so far and asked me have a look at it later. “I will live a life of heaven when I move into the new house.”

Recalling that I had been in Gamdeling， he told many stories without ceasing. He said that in these years， there were seventy or eighty students and two teachers in the school. Now， many people in the village could sing the song， Little Hill Like Gold Bottle. Talking of it， we couldn’t help singing it together. Three old men of same age sung an old song of half a century ago. We all had moisture in our eyes.

Having had the butter tea， guided by Ngodrup， we visited his new house： In front of the gate， there was a quite large cement space. It seemed that the ground had been enhanced by “aga” （aga soil is a special kind of material blended with rubble and earth used for building the roofs or fl oors of traditional Tibetan architecture） and would defi nitely be used as a household wheat fi eld. Inside the new house， both the upstairs and the downstairs were decorated with carved beams and painted pillars. There were a spacious drawing room， comfortable living rooms， a kitchen， a storeroom and a washroom. I could not help admiring “the comfortable building”with seven or eight rooms， and felt happy for my Tibetan friend’s new life. Ngodrup said： “You will have meal in my new house when you come next time， let us have a good drink！ You shall stay a few days at my home.” I was glad and said： “Tsering Dondrup also says so. It seems that I have to live in both your houses by turn next time.” Upon my words， we burst into happy laughter.

Bless Gamdeling

It was late； I shook hands with Tsering Dondrup and said goodbye to him by the car. The bus station was called “Gamdeling Eight Villages”. The bus drove straight from Gamdeling to Lhasa. In the old days， I remember my classmate and I went from Gamdeling to Lhasa to the hospital. It took us four or fi ve hours’ walk to get to Lhasa Tibetan Hospital. Now， it takes only half an hour by bus.

Gamdeling is stepping forward for the new times.

Tashi Delek， my dear Gamdeling fellow countrymen！