China's 1st Autonomous Prefecture Marks 50th Anniversary

China's 1st Autonomous Prefecture Marks 50th Anniversary

A festive ceremony including dancing was held in the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the prefecture's founding.

The local government of Ganzi, the first ethnic minority autonomous prefecture in China, was congratulated by central and provincial governments for the event.

The autonomous prefecture was set up in 1950, the year it was peacefully liberated from slave owners.

Currently, people from 30 different ethnic groups, mostly Tibetan, Yi, Hui and Qiang, live in the prefecture.

In 1999, the prefecture's gross domestic product reached 2.36 billion yuan (US$284.3 million), 26 times that 50 years ago; while its total industrial output value approached 580 million yuan (US$69.88 million), growing by 106 folds in 50 years.

The total mileage of local highways extended 7,444 kilometers, more than 74 percent of the villages have electricity supply, and optic fiber telecommunication is available in all villages.

The prefecture now has 1,200 schools and colleges with 90,000 students, compared with 40 and 3,100 five decades ago, compared to 3,100 before 1950.