Hans and Tibetans mix like milk and water

When Tsewang Gyumey grew up in Lhasa in the 1950s, he was one of the few students who were horse-led to elementary school.

His family was decreed as noblemen by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but his grandfather Changlochen Sonam Gyalpo (1897-1972) was a rare intellectual who dreamed of Tibet's modernization.

His ideas about replacing the feudal serf system with democracy got him sent into exile in India where he delved deeper into the ideas of Karl Marx and Dr Sun Yat-sen. His dream came true only after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951.