A villager in traditional attire takes part in a spring farming ceremony in a village in Lhokha city, Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

On Monday, annual spring farming ceremonies unfolded across agricultural areas of Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, blending tradition with modern agricultural practices.

For local farmers, spring plowing and sowing mark one of the most important events of the year, when villagers dress in festive attire and gather in the fields. Tractors and other agricultural machinery are decorated with red tassels, colorful khata scarves and ringing bells.

More than 200 villagers gather for the ritual, praying for a bountiful season. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

They hold chemar, a wooden box filled with barley flour and roasted barley grains, symbolizing a good harvest, and offer each other highland barley wine, their faces beaming with joy and anticipation. Following elders' prayers for a bountiful season, iron plows gently turn the dormant soil, while women carefully sow seeds, planting hope in the fertile land.

Glinting under the sun, shiny iron plowshares work alongside traditional wooden ones, as the hum of the machinery mingles with laughter, a prelude to spring plowing.

Villagers present khata scarves to tractor drivers and women sowing seeds during the opening ceremony. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

Spring plowing lays the foundation for the year's grain harvest. More than an agricultural activity, it is a cultural ritual, reflecting continuity and change, the resilience of local communities, and their hopes for the future, painting a vibrant picture of rural revitalization on the roof of the world.

Since the onset of spring, townships and villages across the region have deployed technical teams to inspect and service agricultural machinery, while transporting high-quality seeds, such as plateau barley and wheat, to ensure smooth spring farming.

Villagers in Lhokha sow the season's first seeds at the foot of Yumbulagang Palace, known as Xizang's earliest farmland. KUNGA LEZANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

An aerial drone photo shows villagers taking part in the ceremony, blending tradition with modern agricultural practices. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

Women loosen the topsoil to prepare the land for sowing. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

A woman sows seeds on a freshly plowed field during the ceremony. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

Spring plowing and sowing remain among the most important events of the year for local farmers. JIGME DORJE / XINHUA

The first sowing of the season continues agricultural traditions that date back centuries in the region. KUNGA LEZANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE