LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Pudron, 86, lives in Lumpa village of Xigaze City. She can never forget the old days when life was full of hardship but dignity.

Since childhood, Pudron was under the strict control of serf owners. Living in a low adobe house with only a small window hole, her whole family slept on the floor with only a shabby sheepskin as a quilt. Pudron had to get up before dawn to serve various duties, like driving donkeys to carry goods and fertilizing the farmland. Besides, she had to twist wool and do weaving. Thick calluses formed on her hands... Throughout the year, she had no rest day, even though she was hurt. Life was unendurable for her and her family, but they had no choice but to live for tiny little earnings.

It was not until the democratic reform in Xizang in 1959, when millions of serfs were emancipated, that her life truly began to change for the better. Nowadays, Pudron lives with her son and daughter-in-law in a spacious and warm two-story Tibetan-style house. She is not even used to having so much butter in daily life. "This is a 'sweet trouble' that I never dreamed of before," she said.