"As soon as he was back to his Tibetan and Chinese speaking environment at school, he gradually forgot the language. I plan to send him back to the countryside again this summer," said Xiaohong, citing her son, a three-grader at the elementary school in Mainling County.

This is exactly the situation for young Lhoba people nowadays, Xiaohong admitted. All of the seven university graduates in Xiaohong's township with a population of 400 landed jobs outside in Nyingchi, Lhasa or inland cities, an environment far, far away from their culture.

"I feel happy for them to work in modern places, and even I myself hope my son to enter a good university and later work in big cities. But at the same time, we still need them here to pass on Lhoba tradition and make their hometown a better place," said Xiaohong.

Five years ago, when Xiaohong was first elected as NPC deputy, she suggested to improve the infrastructure construction for Lhoba people. "This May, all the road in the county will be covered with blacktop," Xiaohong smiled.

Indeed, great changes have taken place to Lhoba people, who led an uncivilized and unknown life till 1950s. Thanks to the central government's allocation of several million yuan, 80 percent of the county's 101 households moved into modern houses made of stone and wood . Eighty households installed telephones at home and young people began to use mobiles.

"The annual income per capita reached 3,129 yuan (441 U.S. dollars) last year, 341 yuan (48 U.S. dollars) higher than the average of herdsmen of the Tibet Autonomous Region," Xiao said proudly.

Xiaohong's pride in her ethnic group was also revealed in her unique ethnic dress in black and red with copper belt and typical Tibetan turquoise and silver accessory.

"It (the dress) is the national intangible cultural heritage and costs 2,000 yuan (282 U.S. dollars). I only wear it at the most important occasion such as the opening meeting of the NPC," she said.