Anchor:
An exhibition has been staged in Beijing highlighting the sharp contrast between Tibetans' life before and after Tibet's "peaceful liberation" in 1959.

The exhibition features authentic documents, pictures and antiques. Tibet's past serf system and the atrocities it committed have sparked wide criticisms among the show's spectators. CRI's Zheng Chenguang reports.

Reporter:
Among some of the most horrifying exhibits on display are the torture instruments used by old Tibet's slave owners to punish the serfs. The instruments are accompanied by pictures showing how the serf owners executed these extreme punishments, which included cutting out eyes and chopping off arms and legs.

Zhou Changfeng, a spectator at the show, says under such a system, the Tibetan people, 95% of whom were serfs, had no human rights in any form.

"The serf system should be blamed for the backwardness of the old Tibet. The Tibetan serfs led a miserable life. They had no houses to shelter but had to live in toilets and even in the wild. The serf owners controlled every inch of land. They locked up the serfs and gave them food only when they felt like it."

The exhibition shows the Tibetan serfs were not only forced to do laboring work but had to pay endless debt to their owners. Even after a serf died, his fellow villagers had to pay the debt on his behalf.

Yang Qi, another visitor, says the old Tibet 50 years ago was basically like the Middle Ages in Europe some five centuries ago, and no one would support the Dalai Lama's attempt to seek the return of that period.

"The Dalai Lama wants to come back and restore the past serf system under his rule. I believe that religion should be separated from politics. A religious leader should in no way be involved in politics. The current Dalai Lama is not only a religious leader, but a political monk as well. "

Another highlight of the exhibition is the ample evidence provided to prove that Tibet has always been a part of China.

Liu Shigui is another visitor.

"The objects and documents dating back to 1271 AD have shown that Tibet has been a part of China since then. In 1652, the emperor of China's Qing Dynasty met the fifth Dalai Lama and bestowed on him the title the following year. This title is in use to this day. This has shown that Tibet was a part of China even back then."

Tibet's 11th Panchen Erdeni Qoigyi Gyibo,the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, has also been invited to the exhibition. He says Tibet has undergone dramatic changes since its peaceful liberation.

"I have been praying for the nation's prosperity, the happiness all the ethnicities and the success of the Beijing Olympics. Under the leadership of the Chinese government, Tibet is bound to become more prosperous and Tibetans will enjoy a more splendid life. That's my firm belief."

Since Tibet's peaceful liberation in 1959, Tibet's GDP has increased by a factor of 59.

The ongoing exhibition held in Beijing's Cultural Palace of Nationalities will last until July the 25th this year.

Zheng Chenguang, CRI news.