Sangzhub remained at the residence for about one year, leading a comfortable life. Later, he followed Chiqen to Lhasa, where he continued to sing King Gesar . At first, Sangzhub stayed at the home of Chiqen' s relatives; later, he stayed at the residence of Soikang, a noted Lhasa noble.

Gradually, Sangzhub built up his fame.

** Language master

Many King Gesar balladeers came from Northern Tibet and Qamdo. However, as Sangzhub had covered many parts of Tibet, he had a good command of different dialects. Wherever he went, he tried his best to sing in the region's local dialect. When in Lhasa, he used the Lhasa dialect, which curried favor with local audiences.

Sometime later, Sangzhub leased a small house and visited nearby monasteries to sing for a living. Before long, he fell in love with a country girl, Giangyang Zholma, who was 14 years his junior. Finally, he married her at the age of 35.

Sangzhub brought his family to the semi-farming, semi-livestock-breeding area of Moinzhokungka, located near downtown Lhasa during the "democratic reforms'' (1959-1960). After the local government allotted his family a cow and some land, Sangzhub settled in the area with his family, working the field during the day and singing King Gesar for his neighbors in the evenings.

In the early 1980s, the central government implemented special policies in Tibet to fire up the Tibetans' enthusiasm for production. Farmers and herders became exempt from agricultural and livestock breeding taxes and the land and livestock were given back to individuals for household management. At that point, Sangzhub and his family owned one hectare of farmland, four horses, 30 sheep, 21 yaks and six cows. For Sangzhub, who had seven children, this was not enough. Yet, compared to his lot in the past, he was satisfied.

** Concentrating on singing

In 1985, Sangzhub was elected a member of the CPPCC Moinzhokungka Committee. Since he was now elderly, his children took over the fieldwork so he could concentrate on singing King Gesar .

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