Early in the morning, the fog over Basongtso Lake has not yet cleared. 25-year-old Tsering Yangzom has already arrived here and started her daily work.
Basongtso is located in Gongbo Gyamda County, Nyingchi and is one of the largest barrier lakes in eastern Tibet. Surrounded by mountains and snow peaks, the lake is an important tourist attraction in Gongbo Gyamda County. In 2017, the Basongtso Scenic Area was rated a national level 5 scenic area. Tsering Yangzom works as a guide here.
Tsering Yangzom’s home is located in Cuojiu Village, Conggo Township, Gongbo Gyamda County. In her early years, due to family difficulties, Tsering Yangzom had no choice but drop out of high school. Seven years ago, she came to the Basongtso Scenic Area as a guide. With an ideal to get rich, she strives to improve herself, and indeed make a success in increasing her income.
Since Basongtso was established as a level 5A scenic area in 2017, it has further increased employment assistance to the local people, especially those in need. More than 50 people from impoverished households have been recruited, in which over 20 are from the Conggo village.
Now, Tsering Yangzom’s family of four all work in the scenic area. She has a monthly salary of at least 4,500yuan and sometimes as much as 7,000 yuan. Her parents do sanitation work in the scenic area, and her husband does security work, earning 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month for each.
Tsering Yangzom has a pair of adorable twins at home. With increasing income, she renovated the two-story building at home and also spent 120,000 yuan to buy a car.
In addition to her guide work, she started an “e-commerce” store selling high-quality matsutake mushrooms produced in Conggo Township. Last year, she sold more than 150 kilograms of matsutake.
In 2021, Tsering Yangzom has two wishes: to own a homestay of her own, and to take the adult college entrance examination.