Let’s explore Xizang’s change through a lesser-known chapter in its wine industry. While our highland barley wine is better known, many people do not know that Xizang also produces grape wine. As early as the mid-18th century, Markham County in Qamdo City—situated along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road—had already developed the practice of cultivating grapes and producing wine.

Yet this tradition remained largely unknown for centuries. Until 2011, with policy support, Losum Tsering—a resident of the Naxi Ethnic Township—and faculty members from the College of Enology at Northwest A&F University jointly established Xizang Markham Eastern Xizang Treasure Wine Co., Ltd. The company launched the “DAMEIYONG” brand wine, marking the first commercialization of wine in the region and earning the Gold Medal at the 8th Asian Wine Quality Competition. By 2025, this private enterprise achieved an output value of RMB 32.56 million, boosting the per-capita income of grape growers and agricultural laborers in surrounding areas by more than RMB 8,000.

Currently, the plateau wine industry is demonstrating robust, multi-faceted growth. Once modest and unassuming, small grapes have now evolved into a burgeoning industry driving rural prosperity and Xizang’s development. This grape-based industry stands as a vivid microcosm of the profound transformations and enduring resilience witnessed across the snowy plateau over the past six decades.