Photo taken on Aug. 13, 2009, shows a view of the seat of Pangkog County, Nagqu Prefecture, northern Tibet. The county seat was constructed with the assistance of the China Petrochemical Corporation. (Xinhua Photo)

Located at an average altitude of 5,000 m, the "no-man area" in northern Tibet is known as the "life-forbidden zone" because of a low oxygen content and alpine-cold temperature. Counties or districts here, such as Tsonyi, Nyimari and Pangkog in Nagqu Prefecture, shared the same environment -- hard access to transportation services and poor information infrastructure.

Since 2002, residents in the area have benefited from a number of aid-Tibet projects undertaken by the ChinaNationalPetroleumCorporation (CNPCC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) and China Petrochemical Corporation.

Residents wash clothes or play by a river flowing through Pangkog County seat, Aug. 14, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)