Farmers celebrate spring plowing with festive rituals in Lhasa

Enriched with festive spirit and dressed in beautiful Tibetan attire, farmers from different villages in Lhasa, Xizang autonomous region, held their annual spring plowing rituals on Sunday to wish for a bumper harvest.

According to the Tibetan calendar, Sunday was the 17th day of this year's second month. This day is considered an auspicious day to mark the annual spring farming season.

In the morning, villagers headed to the fields with seeders, delicacies, beverages and hope for a good harvest.

Tibetan farmers perform traditional spring plowing rituals on Sunday to mark the start of this year's plowing season in Yangda village in Doilungdechen district of Lhasa, Xizang autonomous region. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]

Unlike the old days, when villagers mainly used yaks and horses to pull the plows, they now use various machines.

Despite the absence of yaks and horses in some villages, farmers decorated their machines like animals to show respect and gratitude and to commemorate the animals' traditional roles.

According to Dekyi, a Tibetan farmer in Yangda village of Lhasa, farming in her village has been fully mechanized, greatly boosting production and yields.

"We mainly grow wheat, barley, rapeseed and potatoes, with barley being the main crop," said Dekyi, adding that the farming processes, from cultivation to harvesting, have all been mechanized.

According to Xizang's latest government work report, the region's grain production exceeded 1.1 million metric tons in 2024. In 2025, Xizang is expected to ensure that grain production remains stable at over 1 million metric tons.