Liu Yunshan, head of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Publicity Department, Du Qinglin, the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attend an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Democratic Reform in Tibet Autonomous Region in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 24, 2009.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition titled "Democratic Reform in the Tibet Autonomous Region" opened in Beijing Tuesday.

    Liu Yunshan, member of both of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at the opening that the exhibition showed Tibet is an inseparable part of China.

    It also exposed the dark side of the old Tibet and told the truth of the armed rebellion of the Dalai Lama Clique, said Liu, who also heads the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Liu Yunshan, head of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Publicity Department, attends an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Democratic Reform in Tibet Autonomous Region in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 24, 2009.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    All those who really knew and cared about Tibet would never deny the miraculous progress of the Tibetan people over the past 50 years with the support of the central government and all the Chinese people, Liu said.

    He attributed the liberation of the working people and the extraordinary social development in Tibet to 50 years of democratic reform.

    Also present at the opening was Du Qinglin, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee.

    The exhibition in the Cultural Palace of Nationalities runs until April 10. It is co-sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council, the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Central Archives, and the Xinhua News Agency.

A guide introduces a photo in an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Democratic Reform in Tibet Autonomous Region in Beijing, China, Feb. 24, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

Tibetans celebrate 50th New Year Festival after Democratic Reform

    LHASA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Like the 22-year-old Tibetan herdsman Tashi, Tibetans across China are celebrating the 50th Tibetan new year after the Democratic Reform with their old traditions.

     Tashi arrived in Lhasa two days ahead of the new year, which starts on Feb. 25 this year, for the annual Lamaism service called Vajra Dance in Tsurpu Monastery. Full story