A high life, but not a pleasant one
Like Tsering Degyi, many of the maintenance workers on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway have left their children in the care of their grandparents. However, the situation is much better than it once was.
He Yonggui, the director of the human resources department at the Qinghai-Tibet Highway Management Bureau, joined the office 32 years ago at age 15. His parents arrived at Wudaoliang Maintenance Station in 1960 and he remembers the days when he sported on the grassland along the highway.
"In winter, there was no fresh water, so my parents broke up ice and took it home in a melting pot. When I saw some red worms in the ice, I was frightened. But we had no choice but to drink the water," he said. "The boiled water made me feel as though I had a swollen belly. My brothers and sisters felt the same."
