In late June of 2002, when I stayed in the Zuogong County seat with Tugar, chief editor of Records of Qamdo, we drove to Junyong Village, which is the site of the Dongba township government, along the Yuqu River Valley. The flourishing trees in the village provided a sharp contrast with the surrounding bare mountains.

We were invited to the home of Baima Lhaco, and sat in her richly ornamented and commodious living room. The windows, doors and pillars of the wall were all painted with flowers and grasses, as well as other decoration.

The three-story quadrate main building is 30 meters long and 25 meters wide, with each story being 4-5 meters high, creating a total constructed area of 700 square meters. On the first floor are stored sundry goods and farm tools, etc. On the second floor, there is a quadrate patio in the middle, around which there is a corridor, which has nine rooms leading off it. Among these, the living room covers about 80 square meters and the kitchen about 50 square meters. In addition, there are seven other rooms, including a sutra hall, bedrooms and storerooms. On the third floor, the front half is the flat roof of the second floor. A yard wall encloses the main construction, and in its side there is a yard embankment, a stable, and a shed for storing plants. In all, the property covers 1,000 square meters and differs from other houses in the village, as it is the only store.



This village is a little remote, being several mountains away from the nearest villages in Zuogong County. The people have 0.05 hectares of land on average. The surrounding mountains are completely bare. Without a single tree, the people have to purchase lumber from distant places to build their homes. Despite this, there are such tall houses.

Most village men do business far from home, such as trade, laboring, transportation and handicrafts. It is these people who earn money from outside to buy the expensive lumber and other construction materials to build such tall homes. Many families send their children at much expense to the elementary schools and middle schools in Zuogong, Qamdo and Lhasa, and many a students have passed the examinations and entered Tibetan middle schools in Tianjin and Nanchang. Baima Lhaco has seven children, among whom two are in the middle school in Lhasa, one is in the Tibetan middle school in Tianjin and four are in the elementary school in Qamdo.

To build their houses, the rich families have to make financial preparations for two or three years; but for others this process may last three or five years, or even over 10 years. The building period is usually one year, but can last twice as long. After moving in, they will complete the decoration year after year in accordance with their economic conditions. A few families have not finished their decoration and colorful painting even after living in the new houses for over 10 years due to their poor financial condition. Even in the house of Baima Lhaco, who is the richest in the village, many pillars on the second floor have not been painted and there are only basal pillars and a roof on the third floor. Nobody knows when the work will be completed.



Baima Lhaco has four husbands, among whom two are in business outside home over a long period, and one is away herding domestic animals for several months in a year. As already noted, the seven children are all studying outside. Even her old mother is in Qamdo to care for her grandchildren. At ordinary times, only Baima Lhaco and one of her husbands are at home in the empty and large house.

The situation is similar in most of the other families to varying degrees.

Why do the people build such houses that are far beyond their financial means and practical necessity? In their minds, houses not only serve as a cozy home, but also stand for wealth and intangible social status.

This is the culture. The people of Dongba regard houses as most important.

Selected from China's Tibet
Text/Photos by ZHANG JIANSHI