Red Mark: The History and Development of Gangtuo Village in Qamdo

China News Service, Qamdo, September 15 (Reporter Ren Siyu) It is difficult for tourists who set foot in Qamdo for the first time not to be impressed by the red color here.

The reddish-brown river, the mountains covered with brick-red soil, and the red buildings that can be seen everywhere... The unique red layer landform creates the unique texture of Qamdo's mountains and rivers, and makes red the most distinctive and thick background color in the area.

As a pioneer in the development of Tibet, this land has witnessed the vicissitudes of the snow-covered plateau. Tibet's first modern primary school, first public security agency, first people's hospital and many other "firsts in Tibetan history" were born here. Groundbreaking breakthroughs paved the way for Tibet's vigorous development.

Why is Qamdo so “red”? A small village on the banks of the Jinsha River may be able to give some answers.

"The First Village for the Liberation of Tibet"

Driving about 300 kilometers from Qamdo City along National Highway 317, you will see Gangtuo Village, Gangtuo Town, Jiangda County, surrounded by mountains and rivers.

The village faces Dege County in Garze, Sichuan across the river. The surging Jinsha River and Sequ River converge here. On the boulders on the shore, the two big red characters "Tibet" are particularly eye-catching.

In October 1950, officers and soldiers of the 18th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army crossed the Jinsha River on cowhide rafts and fired the first shot of the Battle of Qamdo. Gangtuo Village thus became the "first village for the liberation of Tibet", and Tibet's first five-star red flag was raised here.

Now when you walk into Gangtuo Village, the most eye-catching thing is still the ubiquitous red marks. The scattered residential houses with Eastern Tibetan characteristics have been renovated. The elegant and solemn Kangba red roofs are unique. In front of every house, the bright five-star red flag stretches and flutters high in the wind.

Along the Jinsha River, an old fort that has weathered the storm stands quietly, silently witnessing the past and new life of this village.

Puba, an old man from Gangtuo Village, once recalled in an interview that the first time he ate rice in his life was at the temporary residence of soldiers of the 18th Army. "The People's Liberation Army treats the people very well." When he was only 8 years old, he witnessed with his own eyes the People's Liberation Army's fine style of strictly observing discipline and caring for the masses: the soldiers marched and fought, stationed at the garrison, and would rather go hungry than take a grain of barley from the people, or a needle or a thread.

At that time, Puba often watched the movie propaganda films shown by the 18th Army together with the villagers. Through the soldiers' narration, everyone learned about Beijing, Chairman Mao, and understood the meaning of the five-star red flag.

As time goes by, the red story remains fresh. A few years ago, the old man Puba passed away, but the stories he told repeatedly during his lifetime about the history of the Eighteenth Army crossing the river and the close friendship between soldiers and civilians have not been forgotten.

At the 1950 Granary Memorial Hall and the 18th Army Cross-River Campaign Memorial Hall in Gangtuo Village, those hot past events are preserved forever. Silang Duojia, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and mayor of Gangtuo Town, said that in the "first lesson" of the local primary school every year, old comrades and party members who experienced the 18th Army's entry into Tibet would be invited to teach and tell the children about the changes in the village they had experienced.

As time goes by, that dazzling red light has been deeply engraved in the hearts of generations of people.

A natural chasm becomes a thoroughfare

In the past, the snow-covered plateau was blocked by mountains and dangerous rivers. The rapid Jinsha River was a natural barrier between Sichuan and Tibet. "The cowhide boat loops along the water, and when you want to cross, you look at the river and sigh." This is a true portrayal of the difficulty of traveling at that time.

As the People's Liberation Army marched into Tibet, the road construction team faced difficulties and faced dangers. The soldiers marched and built roads at the same time, devoting themselves to the most arduous road construction in the history of China's road construction and opening up the blood channel of Sichuan and Tibet with their own flesh and blood. In 1954, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway was successfully connected, and the natural chasm became accessible.

Over the past seventy years, the bridges on the Jinsha River have been continuously iteratively upgraded:

In 1956, the first suspension bridge was built on the Jinsha River, and Gangtuo people no longer used cowhide rafts to cross the river; in 1974, the 317 National Highway Gangtuo Bridge (the old Jinsha River Bridge) was completed and opened to traffic; in 2008, the new Gangtuo Jinsha River Bridge was completed and opened to traffic... The old bridge and the new bridge, not far apart, cross the river side by side.

If the road is open, all industries will prosper. The great improvement of transportation conditions has brought new opportunities to the development of Gangtuo Village. Silang Duojia said that after the reform and opening up, the villagers of Gangtuo Village started transportation. While increasing their income, it also accelerated the exchange of people, materials and information between Tibet and other places.

At the same time, the village's "Two Committees" team took the lead in practicing ethnic unity, recruiting experts from all ethnic groups to get rich, promoting pairing of party members and the masses for assistance, and regularly carrying out ethnic unity propaganda. Since 2023, the village has carried out more than 100 red education activities, making the concept of "the Chinese nation, one family" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

In September 2024, the Gangtuo Village Committee was awarded the title of “National Model Group for National Unity and Progress”.

Continue to write a new chapter in red

Nowadays, there is an endless stream of vehicles on National Highway 317, and more and more tourists come here to visit this "first village in Tibet" with profound cultural heritage, explore red memories, and feel the new style of Tibetan countryside.

In recent years, Jiangda County has focused on the theme of "Red Qamdo, Revitalizing and Progressing", focusing on creating red cultural landmarks in eastern Tibet and revitalizing many red tourist spots such as the former military camp site of the 18th Army. Gangtuo Village digs deep into the past of the 18th Army entering Tibet, where soldiers and civilians worked together to create a "red memory + culture and tourism integration" model to empower the countryside with red and help revitalize it with characteristic culture and tourism.

The inheritance of the red spirit is inseparable from the relay of youth power. Yangjin Zhuoga, born in 2003, is a young representative who returned to his hometown and spread red stories. After graduating from college, while preparing for the exam, she saw the recruitment information in the village and chose to return to Gangtuo and become a red commentator.

"Old Puba is my uncle. We grew up listening to the stories he told about the Eighteenth Army." Since taking up his post in April this year, Yangjin Zhuoga has received many groups of tourists and research teams from all over the country. In order to tell the story well, she read a lot of historical materials about her hometown and developed a deeper and stronger feeling for the land where she was born and raised.

"As a member of Gangtuo Village, I am very proud to be able to stand here and tell you the stories of my hometown. Especially the story of the villagers helping the soldiers of the 18th Army to cross the river, and the story of the soldiers of the 18th Army working hard to liberate Tibet. Every time I see these stories, I am deeply touched in my heart, and I will cry after watching them for a long time."

The five-star red flag flying in every household and the red stories passed down from generation to generation have witnessed the transformation of Gangtuo Village from isolation to openness and from poverty to happiness. From the natural red of geology and landforms, to the red of liberating and reborn faith, to the red of revitalizing people working together, red has long been integrated into the texture and development of this land, and has become a spiritual force for forging ahead. (over)