On August 23, Dawa and his family welcomed a very important guest to their home: the Panchen Lama Erdeni Choskyi Gyalpo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association.

On that day, the Panchen Lama came to the Kelsong Community in Chamzhu Town, Nedong District, Lhoka Prefecture, Tibet. He visited the Exhibition Hall in the Community, made investigations on the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, and visited with the families of Dawa and Benpa Tsering, another villager.

  The 11th Panchen Lama visits the Kelsong Community Neighborhood Committee Exhibition Hall. 

In May 1959, Kelsong Village was the first to carry out democratic reform in Tibet, establishing the region’s first rural primary Party branch. The main theme of the Kelsong Community Neighborhood Committee Exhibition Hall is “Historic Changes: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow of Kelsong Village”. It describes the tragic lives of serfs through artifacts, revealing the cruelty and underdevelopment in Old Tibet. Photographs record the happy and beautiful lives enjoyed by the people of Kelsong in the New Era, showing the distinct advantages of the socialist system. 

After visiting the Kelsong Community Neighborhood Committee Exhibition Hall, the 11th Panchen Lama was quite moved. In an interview after the visit, he said, “The exhibition can help children understand what life was like in Old Tibet, and how the happy lives of today came about. It should help them understand that a happy life is hard to earn. It is necessary introduce this exhibition to more people so that they can be educated, and get inspired.”

The 11th Panchen Lama makes investigations on the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy despite the rain.