Arts and crafts to paint picture of prosperity

Authorities look to promote region's cultural heritage to boost business environment. Cao Yin reports from Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region.

Editor's note: This is the sixth in a series of stories about the Tibet autonomous region, focusing on the area's history, poverty alleviation measures and the cultural and business sectors.

Earlier this month, a 17-day exhibition of Tibetan art and culture held at Chengdu International Finance Square in Sichuan province attracted nearly 200,000 visitors.

About 30 works were displayed during the exhibition, which was organized by Tihho, a business in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, that promotes the area's arts and culture, and CIFS. The show, which offered visitors free access to paintings and other treasures, was aimed at deepening popular understanding of Tibet and its culture.

Fang Kun, one of Tihho's founders, began promoting Tibetan art and culture five years ago. He and three friends sited their headquarters in Lhasa, not only because they would be near Tibetan artists and their work but also because they were confident about the region's dynamic business environment.

"We wanted to become a bridge for cultural exchanges between Tibet and other areas," Fang said.

Last year, Xu Yingtao, from Heilongjiang province, also opened a company in Lhasa to help the regional government and local businesses promote Tibetan art and culture.

Xu described Tibet as a fledgling market, compared with the mature infrastructure in Southwest China's wealthy provinces, "but with many job opportunities and business possibilities", which is good news for startups.

A report published in November by the Tibet branch of the Communist Youth League of China and Tibet University noted that the region's business environment has flourished as a result of the efforts of startups in recent years.

By April 2017, a total of 11,036 small and micro businesses had registered in Lhasa, accounting for 67 percent of companies in the city, bringing greater dynamism to the local economy, the report said.

The businesses covered several sectors, with those related to catering, culture and retailing ranked highest.

However, the report also noted a number of factors that could affect startups, including the small number of ethnic Tibetan entrepreneurs and a lack of regulation in some sectors.

In response, local authorities have taken steps to encourage residents to start their own businesses, such as providing subsidies and simplifying procedures for dealing with government departments.

Thubthan Khedrub, a Tibet University professor who helped write the report, welcomed the measures, but said they do not go far enough. He suggested the government should offer more financial support, especially for younger entrepreneurs, and provide more training for entrepreneurs to improve Lhasa's business environment.

Cultural bridges

Fang, who was born in 1984, is from the Gannan Tibet autonomous prefecture in Gansu province. The young Tibetan studied in Beijing, throwing himself into his academic work and becoming involved in social organizations, but he never forgot his love of ethnic art and culture or his dream of starting his own business.

After graduating from Peking University, he worked for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body, researching policies related to the nation's ethnic groups and handling public relations with neighboring countries.

"In that job, I noticed that many people were deeply curious about Tibet, but I realized that in their eyes Tibetan culture and art still revolved around old thangka - religious paintings - and figures of the Buddha. It was then that I had the idea of promoting Tibetan arts and culture in a modern, internationalized way," he said.

"At the same time, some people told me about their concerns regarding the protection of our traditional culture. I think we should take action, rather than just expressing concern," he said, adding that the best way to protect the culture is to raise awareness and promote it effectively.

In early 2014, he quit his job and co-founded the Tihho Cultural and Art Center in Lhasa, achieving his dream of starting his own business.

Tan Weimin, who owns a multifunctional inn in Lhasa, shares Fang's opinion. "The region's culture needs to go global, while some advanced business management styles could also be brought in from other parts of China," said the 32-year-old native of Guangyuan, Sichuan province.

"I'd like to be a bridge for cultural exchanges."

After graduating from Beijing Jiaotong University in 2009, Tan worked in large cities such as the capital and Jinan, Shandong province, but the heavy workload left him exhausted and feeling lost.

In 2012, he resigned from his job in Beijing and began traveling around the country by bike. "My destination was not Tibet. I just wanted to relax and see friends when I passed their hometowns," he recalled.

However, after receiving assistance from several Tibetans he met on the road and staying in Lhasa for several months, he decided to settle in the city in 2013. "I found the people, culture and business environment were all inclusive," he said.

Tan has a passion for reading, but he found there were few libraries in Tibet. In April 2014, he opened a bookstore in Lhasa, regarding the move as the first step in a cultural exchange.

"I knew I'd made the right decision, especially when I noticed an elderly Tibetan man who often came to the bookstore to read and borrow books," he said. "It meant the business met local people's demands."

Innovation

However, Tan quickly discovered that while many people liked his store, few actually bought books, so he had to innovate to make a living.

In 2015, he moved the bookstore to Barkhor Street, a bustling area next to the Jokhang Temple, and upgraded the business into a multifunctional inn to attract more people.

Now, the four-story inn has 17 rooms, each designed to be a study area, plus a cafe bar and a public library to satisfy the demand for snacks and reading.

"I didn't want to give up my bookstore dream, but it needed more money. So, I offered extra services, hoping they could help support my dream business over the long term," he said.

Fang, from Tihho, has also discovered that businesses in Tibet usually require at least two revenue streams.

To that end, his company provides a platform for artists to display their work and acts as a channel to help people better understand Tibetan culture through exhibitions. It also helps local people to design and sell cultural commodities, such as jewelry, knitted fabrics and home decorations.

Promotions for activities and exhibitions both require money, "which means we have to find a way to be self-sufficient", Fang said.

In addition to the company's headquarters in Lhasa, Tihho has built an arts and cultural center in Shanghai, and in the past five years it has also opened five gift shops selling Tibetan artworks and cultural goods in the two cities.

The items "help people to better understand Tibet and also contribute to keeping our business sustainable", Fang said.

Training

Xu, the entrepreneur from Heilongjiang, expressed some concerns about her startup, even though she spoke highly of the dynamic market in Tibet.

"Some parts of the market are not as regulated as those in large cities outside the region," said the 33-year-old, who arrived in Lhasa in 2015 after quitting her job in Beijing.

"For example, I had to explain the region's startup policies and rules to my partners and even local residents when I signed contracts with them, because they didn't know the basics of running a business. It doubled the time taken."

Thubthan Khedrub, the professor, echoed Xu's words, saying some local people had heard about the policies related to startups, but they had no idea how to apply them to their businesses.

In the report, he and the other authors noted that some Tibetans who wanted to start businesses lacked relevant knowledge, and some local college graduates had no specific plans before they founded their companies.

To resolve these problems, Thubthan Khedrub suggested the government should further explain the policies to local people or update them promptly, provide more financial support to young entrepreneurs and create a better business environment by offering people more startup-related training.

Xu said, "Gaining more knowledge about business management is not only a necessity for newcomers, but also for entrepreneurs like myself, whose businesses are in the formative stages."

She added that she felt more optimistic after taking part in classes arranged by Tihho, which has brought Peking University's Entrepreneurs' Training Camp, a national-level startup platform, to Lhasa.

The aim is to encourage local people by inviting university professors and entrepreneurs to share their experiences and teach business management classes.

According to Fang, almost 1,000 young entrepreneurs in Lhasa - many of whom are local residents age 20 to 35 - have taken part in 50 training sessions at the camp so far.

"I hope the training will not only promote the market for Tibetan culture, but also help drive developments in more sectors in the region, such as technology and agriculture," he said.