LHASA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Losang Qoepee, an orthopedist of the People's Hospital of Lhasa, has been apprenticed to Yang Jie, a doctor from the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital for a month, together with several other local doctors.

Under the tutorship of the Beijing expert, they have done dozens of orthopedic surgeries on children, a breakthrough in Tibet's medical history.

This is not the first time that Losang Qoepee has learned from medical experts from Beijing.

"I've learned minimally invasive orthopedic surgery from Gong Xiaofeng, my first master in 2017. It is a very practical technology that reduces the pain on patients and the possibility of sequelae," Losang Qoepee said. The 35-year-old doctor is now an expert on such surgeries himself.

Since 2015, China has increased medical assistance to Tibet. A total of 841 medical staff from seven provinces and municipalities have provided assistance to eight hospitals in Tibet, providing training for around 4,000 medical workers in the region.

Thanks to the assistance program, nearly 200 doctors in Tibetan hospitals are now able to independently conduct one or two kinds of new surgeries, greatly improving the accessibility of medical service to Tibetan people.

The program introduced more than 1,000 of advanced practices and technologies to Tibet, and filled 1,500 medical technology gaps in Tibet.

By 2019, the number of outpatients, inpatients and surgeries in the eight hospitals had increased by 28 percent, 70 percent and 76 percent, respectively, compared with five years ago, and the average life expectancy of people in Tibet reached 70.6 years.

Over the past five years, the above-mentioned seven regions have spent 920 million yuan (about 134.85 million U.S. dollars) to help seven Tibetan hospitals build new facilities, procure medical equipment and conduct medical research and education, according to the regional health commission.