More than 20,000 people rallied Thursday in Lhasa, capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of the plateau administrative region.

    Chinese vice president Hu Jintao, also head of the central delegation, attended the grand gathering and delivered a speech.

    On May 23, 1951, the central government of China signed a 17- article agreement with the local government of Tibet. Then, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in Lhasa in October the same year.

    As an integral part of China, Tibet carried out democratic reforms in 1959, which turned serfs, accounting for 95 percent of the total population in Tibet, into masters of their own destiny.