Monks attend an annual Buddha thangka displaying ritual at the Tsurphu Monastery in Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region on February 19, 2023. Photo: VCG

Raising livelihood subsidies, promoting medical aid, upgrading heating and the oxygen supply facilities … Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region plans to invest 13.7 billion yuan (about $1.97 billion) in 2023 into 21 items which will improve the well-being of local residents.

Besides raising the subsistence allowance and subsidies on education, medical service and pension, Xizang regional government also aims to improve the livelihood subsidies for orphans, the elderly, as well as people living or working in the border areas, said the Report on the Work of Xizang Autonomous Region Government in 2023. 

The local government will continue supporting medical professionals to aid Xizang with a fund of two million yuan to be put into each of the 13 county-level people's hospitals. The county-level hospitals in border regions will get an extra one million yuan in financial support. 

Some people living in Xizang suffer from harsh conditions such as extreme cold and a lack of oxygen as the region's average altitude is more than 4,000 meters. 

For that reason, 600 million yuan will be put into constructing the oxygen supply facilities in border counties and townships located in areas at altitude of over 3,500 meters. 449 million yuan will be used for the operation of community-level heating facilities. Another 181 million will be used for building heating facility in public hospitals. 

The local government will also spend funds in promoting heatable brick beds and cookware suitable for plateau regions.

In January 2022, Xizang regional government set 38 items on people's livelihoods and has completed all of them, including covering all residents with physical examination, building 96 rural highways, and setting sewage pipeline networks in cities.