Michael Crook. [Photo/China Xizang Online]

The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was signed in Beijing on May 23, 1951, marking a historic turning point for the region.

Just days later, Michael Crook, son of international communist educators David Crook and Isabel Crook, was born in Beijing. Seventy-five years on, the British educator and co-founder of Western Academy of Beijing shared his family's three-generation connection with Xizang autonomous region and the Tibetan people.

Speaking fluent Beijing-style Mandarin, Michael Crook recalled how his grandparents and parents first visited the Tibetan ethnic group in Sichuan in the 1930s and 1940s. They witnessed breathtaking landscapes alongside widespread poverty, limited access to education and healthcare, and a short life expectancy.

Michael Crook said the most meaningful changes in Xizang over the past 75 years are reflected in the lives of ordinary people. "The true measure of development is not skyscrapers or GDP, but whether children can study, mothers can safely give birth, and families can live longer, healthier lives," he said.

During his visits to Xizang since the 1980s, Michael Crook witnessed major improvements in healthcare, infrastructure and education. He noted that life expectancy in Xizang has risen from around 35 years in the 1950s to over 72 today.

He was also deeply impressed by efforts to balance modernization with environmental protection and cultural preservation. "Tibetan culture has not disappeared," Michael Crook said. "It remains vibrant, living proudly through each new generation."

Michael Crook (left) visits aid recipients in Shigatse, Xizang. [Photo/China Xizang Online]