There were many risks traveling on such a road.

On their way, they had to cross Mount Duoxiongla, 4,500 meters high. Once Jikmey was caught in winter snow for two days due to a road blockade.

"I felt I was dying then," he says.

Horses of transport teams often fell off old, rotting wooden bridges into the river.

Though times were hard then, Jikmey says the experience along the way was valuable.

"I met a lot of new people and learnt things I'd never know when in Medog," he explains. "I'd carefully observe what others are doing and try to learn from them."

When hybrid rice was introduced to Medog in the 1990s, local farmers, who had never seen it before, were reluctant to take risks.

"They simply ate all the seeds provided free by the local government," Jikmey recalls. "But I had seen the hybrid rice and became the first farmer in my county to try planting it."

He had a great harvest, and all the local farmers started planting it in the next two or three years.

Like many others, Jikmey opened a small shop on the mountain roadside with four fellow villagers as traffic got busier.

It was a simple shack of plastic cloth, opened from July to December and closed during winter.

It sold limited goods such as cigarettes and instant noodles. But the shop could generate 5,000 yuan ($817) a year, which was a considerable income in Medog then.

In 2000, a new road allowing tractors was built. It connected the county and an important transfer station.

Jikmey soon bought one of the few tractors in Medog, as transport was still profitable work then.

He bought his first truck in 2011, soon after the roadway connecting Medog and the outside world was finally open. He has focused on transporting construction materials like concrete, seeing the county's growing need for it as traffic grows.

Now he owns two houses, five trucks, three cars and three excavators. He has started a small construction company and a factory of prefabrication panels, too. The transport business alone brings him about 500,000 yuan a year.

As the village head for 18 years, Jikmey formed a transport team of 30 trucks last year. The team often travels between Medog and nearby counties, delivering constructional materials, farm products, and daily goods. Many families have considerably improved their financial conditions this way.

Before 2011, every household in Medog had a quota for transporting necessary provisions. Each household needed to haul 300 kilograms.

With the horse team, his village was often able to help other villages and earn extra allowances provided by local governments, Jikmey recalls.

"But that was a hard way to earn money. Now we don't have to do it anymore," he says.

He says the growing traffic and economy has energized the atmosphere of local life. Instead of drinking and idling about along the streets, most young people can easily find sideline work beside farm season.

"People are working harder nowadays, because there are a lot of opportunities," Jikmey says. "I believe there will be more great changes in the future."

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