"It's much better than I expected, in such a short period of time," Yu said.

The unrest that struck Lhasa on March 14 left 908 shops looted, seven schools, five hospitals and 120 homes torched, and many residents penniless. Total damage has been reported to be more than 244 million yuan.

To help restore businesses, shop owners who suffered losses in the March 14 riots in Lhasa will receive monthly living allowances of 260 yuan from the government, which is equal to the minimum living allowance in the Tibetan capital. The government aid will continue up to 2010.

Over the same period, owners of the damaged shops will be exempted from business and corporate income taxes, as well as urban maintenance and construction taxes, the Tibetan government said last week.

The city government has also helped a number of badly hit businesses obtain bank loans.

Maqu county

Maqu, which lies on the northern tip of Gannan and has a population of 46,000, suffered the worst damage among the six riot-hit counties in the prefecture because of its location amid neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces.

Local officials said that 70 percent of businesses in the county town were affected. But none of the businesses had taken out insurance, while the local government has limited funds to help in the recovery.

Xin Zilong, who used to be one of the wealthiest residents in the county, is among the 100-odd businesses worst hit by the violence. All that remains of his three-story building are charred bricks. His economic loss is estimated to be about 1.4 million yuan.

Xin, 43, was born to Han parents in Maqu and has helped the development of the region. Xin said he now has to live on government handouts.

The local government is planning tax exemptions but Xin and other businesspeople said it might take a long time for such recovery.

Similarly, businesspeople have said that the riots have made the backward western region poorer and cut the progress made in recent years.

Maqu alone suffered an economic loss of 104 million yuan, about the county government's fiscal income for half of 2006.

"I have been doing business in Maqu for 20 years and have witnessed the development of the county," said one resident.

"Tibetan herdsmen could finally get water from taps and electricity, and roads have been built up to their homes. It was time for them to enjoy better lives, and I couldn't understand why someone would ruin it."