Earthquake relief efforts at Tingri County in Xizang

Last year, an earthquake struck the Tingri County in Xizang, also known as Tibet.

Affected residents were arranged to move into new homes free of charge.

Some beneficiaries said their living conditions have improved compared to before, while government officials expressed hope that post-disaster reconstruction would serve as an opportunity to diversify residents' income channels.

The earthquake that struck Tingri County in January 2025 claimed 126 lives.

Senga Village in Changsuo Township, was one of the hardest-hit areas. Sangjie, 24, works as a cook at a primary school. When the earthquake struck, she was not at home, only learning about the damage through a call from her sister.

To accommodate the displaced residents, the authorities arranged for all affected people to move into new houses free of charge, and property ownership certificates for the homes have already been issued.

Sangjie moved into this house in August last year, and basic infrastructure like water and electricity in the area were fully repaired by October.

She says that she could not have imagined that she could move into the new house so quickly after the disaster. The difference between her old and current house is big in every aspect.

The authorities allocated houses of different sizes to each affected family based on the number of people in the household. For Sangjie's family of six, they were allocated this 160-square-meter house.

An official in charge of the reconstruction project says he hopes to utilise the opportunity of post-disaster reconstruction, to open up more ways for villagers to increase their income.

He says they are improving various supporting facilities, especially high-standard agricultural construction, to accelerate the people's path to prosperity. He adds that they would also like to take advantage of being close to Mount Everest, or Zhumulangma Feng, to develop the tourism industry.

He mentions that the government supports villagers in setting up their own small businesses. Some of the newly built houses have side doors to make it convenient for villagers to use their homes as shops.