A young lady of Tibetan ethnic group selects cloth making traditional clothes of Tibetan ethnic group at a shop in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on Feb. 18, 2009. Traditional clothes of Tibetan ethnic group are popular among people of Tibetan ethnic group as Tibetan New Year, which falls on Feb. 25 this year, is coming.

His son-in-law is also from the Han ethnic group, who celebrate the beginning of the lunar New Year with the Spring Festival.

In other Tibetan residential areas, people also can also find the festive atmosphere for the the new year.

"We have better days and more money now. We now buy more things and more expensive stuff in the new year shopping," said a woman named Kelsang Drolma in her Tibetan clothes among the crowds in a market in Shangri-La County of Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province.

As the Spring Festival and the Tibetan New Year is close to each other, stores had prepared abundant goods for the two, said a salesman in the market.

A new year party will be on on Wednesday in the county and a series of activities will be held from Wednesday to Friday in Deqen County.

The new year is a special year for the quake-affected people, like herdsman Balo who had lost his house in the fatal quake and recently moved to new tents for the new year festival in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province.

Bola's family with four members now have a home with facilities like solar energy lighting, beds, cabinets and stoves.

He had prepared for many days to invite his family members and friends to celebrate the new year in his big tent together.

The province has launched a residential project for the herdsmen here before the new year, providing new tents for 100,000 herdsmen households by April 20.

It plans to spend 18 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars) to improve the living conditions of the herdsmen households in 29 counties in the next four years.