LHASA， March 27 (Xinhua) -- A top government official of China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday said Tibet is "full of vigor" and its people are confident to be at par with others in the nation to achieve a "moderately prosperous society."


"I can proudly say that Tibet is full of vigor like never before. A hundred flowers are in bloom，" said Qizhala， chairman of region government， using a Chinese expression to describe a liberal and prosperous time.


In a televised speech on the eve of Tibet's Serfs' Emancipation Day， Qizhala said the people of Tibet are commemorating this day to tell the dark history of the old Tibet and show the fundamental changes that have taken place in the socialist new Tibet.


Serfs' Emancipation Day was formally established on March 28 by the regional legislature in 2009 to mark the start of Tibetan democracy， which ended the feudal serf system in 1959， freeing 1 million serfs， or 90 percent of the region's population at that time.


Qizhala said Tibet has achieved new progress since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012. The economy has been growing rapidly with solidarity among ethnic groups， a well-protected environment， improved livelihoods， and society in peace and harmony， he said.


He said Tibet has redoubled efforts to enhance ethnic solidarity， maintain peace and harmony in Buddhist monasteries and during religious rituals， and help more than 130，000 cast off poverty， 77，000 of whom were relocated from inhospitable areas.


Statistics show Tibet's economy grew by more than 10 percent and fixed assets investment shot up about 20 percent in 2016， taking a leading place among provincial-level regions nationwide. Tibet also topped the list of average disposable income growth for urban and rural residents.


Qizhala urged all people in Tibet to work even harder to march toward Tibet's lasting peace and security and long-term development.

A preview of Marintec China 2017. The exhibition will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center from December 5 to 8 to show the latest progress in the global shipping industry.

Cruise ships will be the focus of a marine exhibition to be held in Shanghai tomorrow as cruise companies eye the huge and promising Chinese market for cruise tourism.


The four-day Marintec China 2017 exhibition will highlight luxury cruise ships as well as developments in ocean engineering and shipping Donne Nike Air Max TN Scarpe Nere Rosa Scontate , said Xing Wenhua, president of Shanghai Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers.


The exhibition will present the efforts of more than 250 shipbuilders worldwide working on cruise ships and this huge investment into building the liners is “echoing the rebounding demand in the shipping industry,” Xing said.


China is one of the largest markets leading the growth and its demand for cruise ships is growing at 30 percent annually, Michael Duck, president of foreign committee of Marintec China, said.


China is now the world's second largest cruise ship market by passengers which totaled 4.5 million last year, up 84 percent from a year ago. A total of 1,010 cruise ships visited China last year, a jump of 61 percent year on year. By 2030, the number of China's cruise ship passengers is expected to total 1.75 million, generating a demand for around five large-scale cruise ships to be built in the coming 15-20 years, the Marintec China committee predicted.


Cruise ships are also capturing a larger portion of the world's shipping market, with 32 cruise ships ordered last year or half of the new orders globally.


Held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, the exhibition has drawn over 2,100 shipping companies worldwide, and is slated to attract 65,000 visitors,“with both figures hitting a record high,” Duck said.