Safe drinking water flowing to rural Tibet

Unlike the past, however, drinking water in the region's rural areas has undergone a qualitative leap. Changes have come, from centralized public water supply points to tap water in households, from surface water supplies to underground supplies, and from intermittent supplies to full-time supplies.

In the past, rural residents in some places had to drill holes in ice to get to water. They fetched water by traveling long distances, and they faced seasonal water shortages in high altitude areas.