A Sherpa man weighs fritillaria at his store in Zhentang Township, Dinggye County of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, on Dec. 13, 2024. Zhentang is a remote township bordering Nepal in Dinggye County in the city of Xigaze. Besieged by forests at the foot of Qomolangma deep in the Himalayas, the township has an average altitude of over 2,000 meters and is home to more than 2,600 Sherpa people.

　　Zhentang, meaning “path for transportation,“ earned its name when Sherpa people would carry large amounts of daily necessities across the steep terrain long ago.

　　Thanks to improved transportation and telecommunication facilities, the Sherpa people in the once-isolated township at the China-Nepal border are now connected with the outside world and embracing modern life.

　　In recent years, Zhentang has focused on developing cross-border trade, aquaculture, tourism and other industries. The per capita disposable income of rural residents in the township is expected to reach 16,578.5 yuan (about 2,278.4 U.S. dollars) this year, up 19 percent year-on-year. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)

　　This combo photo shows Sherpa student Wangmo reading a textbook at a classroom, Nov. 24, 2021 (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Purbu Zhaxi) , and Wangmo having a math lesson during her sixth grade at a classroom on Dec. 13, 2024 (photo by Xinhua photographer Tenzin Nyida), in Zhentang Township, Dinggye County of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)