Serfs' Emancipation Day was formally established on March 28 by the regional legislature in 2009 to mark the start of Tibetan democracy, which ended the feudal serf system in 1959, freeing 1 million serfs, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time.

A senior official of China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday said Tibetan people are confident to live a happier life under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Performers stage a folk dance during a performance to mark Tibet's Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 28, 2018. Wednesday marks the 59th anniversary of the emancipation of Tibetan serfs. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorgi)