Now that he has a telephone, Yang Zomg, head of Yumai Township of Lhunze County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, does not need to cross a snow-covered mountain to communicate with the county government.

As the smallest township in China, Yumai has only seven families of 26 villagers. Located in a border region, Yumai is some 200 kilometers from the county seat. Even going to the nearest village from the township government, Yang Zomg has to cross a 30-kilometer mountain range.

"In the past, no matter whether the affair was important or not, we would have to go to the county to handle it," complained Yang Zomg.

"Many important papers would reach us only next April or May when the ice and snow on the mountain thawed."

Yumai Township is not the only case. Now modern communication methods have extricated many people inhabiting remote regions of Tibet from long journeys.

With a newly installed telephone, Yexe, a 67-year-old man from Cona County, can talk with his son working in Beijing any time.

"With the telephone, I can reach my son wherever he goes," the old man said proudly.

According to sources with the regional telecommunications bureau, 61 optical cables and more than 400 satellite TV receiving stations distribute over the 1.2 million- square kilometer Tibetan Plateau.

So far, the telephone network has covered over 90 percent of the southwest China region, and the number of Internet users in Tibet have reached nearly 40,000.

"Some villagers even boast mobile phones. Modern communication technology is changing the life of Tibetan people," said an official with the telecommunications bureau.