Gangtuo Village, Jiangda County, Tibet: Inheriting the red gene and painting a new picture of national unity

CCTV News (Reporter Xing Ming): The Jinsha River rushes forward, witnessing the changes of the years. Gangtuo Village, located in Jiangda County, Qamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region, is the "first village liberated in Tibet" and the place where the first five-star red flag was raised in Tibet. For more than 70 years, from the red past when the military and civilians worked together to the present when people of all ethnic groups work together to build a beautiful homeland, the red gene has always been deeply rooted in this land.

In September 2024, the Gangtuo Village Committee won the title of National Model Collective for National Unity and Progress. An important village that has witnessed history is glowing with the vitality of the new era.

Red memory has become the spiritual bond that unites people’s hearts

In 1950, the 18th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Tibet. After an arduous march, the troops came to the Gangtuo area on the banks of the Jinsha River. The battle to cross the river started here. Gangtuo Village witnessed an important historical moment in the liberation process of Tibet, and also witnessed the touching story of the bloody battle of the 18th Army soldiers and the unity of the army and the people.

In order to remember history and inherit red genes, in 2018, the Eighteenth Army Dukou Red Heritage Park in Jiangda County was built. Through pictures, text, multimedia and other forms, the park focuses on displaying historical content such as the 18th Army's entry into Tibet, the battle across the Yangtze River, and subsequent construction. It also sets up special exhibitions such as the Battle of Qamdo, the List of Revolutionary Martyrs, the Construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, and the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, making precious periods of history an important carrier for patriotism education and national unity education.

The red gene continues in the practice of national unity

Today's Gangtuo Village adheres to the main line of building a strong sense of the Chinese nation's community and regards the construction of grassroots party organizations as the "backbone" of national unity. The village's "Two Committees" team takes the lead in practicing ethnic unity, attracts experts from all ethnic groups to participate in village affairs, promotes pairing of party members and the masses for assistance, and gradually forms a work pattern in which party building leads and people of all ethnic groups participate.

Relying on red resources such as the village history museum, the 1950 granary, and the ruins of the Eighteenth Army crossing the river, Gangtuo Village carries out national unity publicity and education on a regular basis. Since 2023, more than 100 red education activities have been carried out to integrate the concept of "the Chinese nation is one family" into the daily lives of the people.

Red resources are not only used to tell history, but also gradually become a new driving force for rural development.

In recent years, Gangtuo Village has deeply explored the red cultural connotation of "the first village liberated in Tibet" and explored the development model of "red memory + cultural tourism integration". Relying on the "Red Qamdo·Revitalizing and Advancing" themed activities and red tourist attractions, a total of more than 10,000 tourists of all ethnic groups in Sichuan and Tibet have been received since 2023. Tourists from different places enhance exchanges and deepen friendships while visiting ruins, learning about history, and experiencing rural life. Red tourism has become an important carrier to promote exchanges and integration among people of all ethnic groups.

With the increase in tourists, villagers have also changed from "spectators" to participants in cultural tourism development. Villagers have spontaneously opened 16 Tibetan B&Bs. People of all ethnic groups jointly operate industries and share development benefits. The annual tourism income reaches more than 200,000 yuan. Red culture brings popularity, industrial development adds vitality, and national unity becomes more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people through common development.

From improving the living environment to sharing development results, the face of villages continues to change

Since 2023, Gangtuo Village has continued to improve living infrastructure, upgrade water supply and power supply facilities, improve the living environment, and regularly carry out the "National Unity and Family" activities to help the people solve practical difficulties in production and life by distributing mini-tillers, classified trash cans and other benefits to the people.

Nowadays, when walking into Gangtuo Village, the red ruins and modern rural life complement each other. History is no longer just words and photos in showcases, but is integrated into the practice of village development, mass life, and national unity and progress.

A five-star red flag witnesses an important turning point in Tibetan history; a village also records the footprints of people of all ethnic groups working together to build their homeland over the past 70 years. From the unity of the military and the people during the war years to the common prosperity of industries and shared development in the new era, Gangtuo Village has always inherited the red gene and continued to deepen national unity.

Standing at a new historical starting point, this "First Village for the Liberation of Tibet" is taking the National Model Collective of National Unity and Progress as a new starting point, protecting, utilizing, and inheriting red resources well, transforming the fine tradition of national unity into an endogenous driving force for rural development, and writing a new chapter for plateau villages in the new era through joint struggle.