This photo shows the main forum of the 2023 Forum on the Development of Xizang (Tibet), China, which is held in Beijing on May 23, 2023. [Photo courtesy of the Forum on the Development of Xizang]

Tibet, or Xizang in Chinese, has been part of China since ancient times. It won peaceful liberation in 1951 soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.

On May 23, 2023, the 72nd anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 2023 Forum on the Development of Xizang, China, which was held jointly by the PRC State Council Information Office and the People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

In the past seven decades or more, Tibet has experienced profound changes. It used to be a society ruled by feudal serfdom under theocracy. In 1959, Tibet underwent democratic reform, and the backward feudal serfdom was abolished and a socialist system with Tibetans as masters and regional ethnic autonomy was established. The former serfs and slaves in Tibet have since been leading a better life. The region has enjoyed double-digit economic growth for decades. Its gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2023 reached 57.59 billion yuan or a growth of 8.2%, the highest in China.