The natural drinking water products produced from the Xizang autonomous region were recently placed on China's first list of key areas for the cultivation of traditional advantageous food production regions and local specialty food industries.

The first group of cultivation targets, released on June 4, are distributed throughout 28 provinces and regions of China, covering major food industry categories, such as dairy product manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, brewing, and refined tea manufacturing.

Xizang has nearly 500 billion cubic meters of freshwater resources, accounting for 16.5 percent of the national total. It ranks first in per capita water availability and is recognized as one of the world's best sources of freshwater, according to the region's industry and information technology bureau.

The region has over 60 production lines with a designed capacity of more than 5 million tons and 56 licensed natural drinking water companies. Since 2012, the region's natural drinking water output has quadrupled, with an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent, data from the bureau showed.

Among these enterprises is 5100 Xizang Glacier Spring Company. Wang Hua, general manager of the company, said the company focuses on the production of high-end mineral water, and the annual designed production capacity has exceeded 500,000 metric tons of mineral water.

The company provides job opportunities for the locals and provides scholarships to students with financial difficulties, she said.

In 2024, customs received 344 batches of mineral water for export declaration pre-inspection business from the company, with a value of 17.34 million yuan, she added.

Dorje, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that water on the Tibetan Plateau is supplied by glacier and snow meltwater. It is a source of water that does not degrade.

"With an average altitude of over 4,000 meters in Xizang, there are 11 snow-capped mountains standing above 8,000 meters," Dorje said. "The pristine ecological environment and unique glacier resources provide natural guarantees for high-quality mineral water in Xizang."