A Tibetan woman， Zhoga， 24， is among the first batch of air hostesses ever to come from the Tibetan Autonomous Region， according to today's China Daily.

    Zhoga works for China Southwest Airlines， the only airline that flies between Beijing and Lhasa.

    The Tibetan air hostesses are proving popular with air travellers， who often ask Zhoga and her fellow fliers questions in Tibetan.

    "I can speak in Tibetan ， Chinese and English，" said Zhoga. "Languages are fundamental for an air hostess shuttling between Beijing and Lhasa."

    Partly in response to increasing demands for fast and convenient transport by richer Tibetan people， China's civil aviation authorities told China Southwest Airlines to set up air routes to Lhasa in December 1998 ， according to Zeng Jin， of Southwest Airlines.

    Like many of her friends in Tibet ， Zhoga said she had set her heart on living beyond the Tibetan Plateau since childhood. Many young Tibetan women now have more say in deciding their careers ， whereas in the past they were mostly confined to the kitchen and pasture.

    China Southwest Airlines started recruiting stewardesses from Tibet in June last year. Zhoga ， who was then a well-paid hospital worker in Lhasa， competed with more than 300 other women to become an air hostess. Only 5 per cent made it through.

    Recalling the selection process ， Zeng said supervisors were impressed by the educational achievements and attitudes shown by the Tibetan women.

    When the 15 lucky women ， aged between 18 and 24 ， were announced on August 15， the young women made headlines across Tibet. Proud parents and relatives sang and danced all day， Zhoga said.

    The women had to undergo a series of difficult training sessions before they could fly.

    For Zhoga ， English was one of the biggest hurdles during the three months of intensive training in Chengdu ， capital of Sichuan Province.

    "Becoming a stewardess was my dream ，" said Zhoga. "I just couldn't allow anything to stop me achieving my goal."

    Zhoga finally succeeded. Her standard English pronunciation and happy personality now help travellers relax on the more than five-hour flight from Beijing to Lhasa.

    "For me ， to be a stewardess means a lot ，" said Zhoga. "Many people throughout the world will see me before they see Tibetans in Tibet. I'll show them what a Tibetan woman really looks like."