Nearly 10,000 people in southwest China's Sichuan Province have been evacuated after a landslide blocked the Jinsha River and the water level of a barrier lake continued to rise.

China's self-developed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) was used for the first time to probe into waters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Harbin Engineering University said Tuesday.

Wang Yang sent a congratulatory letter to the Fifth World Buddhist Forum, which opened in Putian, east China's Fujian Province.

“Compared with our parents, we are very fortunate to live in this new era,” 21-year-old Jamdenda from Sershul County, Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province said sincerely.

The Tibet regional government has helped over 20,000 poor women start a business or find work in the past five years, as the female employment rate surpasses 40 percent.

Sixty percent of the world's snow leopard habitats are located in China, according to a report released by the country's 19 protection organizations and research institutes.

Chinese authorities have allocated funds and supplies to landslide-hit Tibet autonomous region as well as Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in Southwest China to support disaster relief work.

Researchers from 19 Chinese organizations have called for more efforts to promote protection of snow leopards and their habitats.