"It is unbelievable! Editorial, business, national news, world news, analysis & market, sports, entertainment, fashion, automobile and advertisement are all there," he marveled.

"The 'Stock Market' page impresses me a lot. It proves that Tibet has its own listed companies and Tibetans have started investing in stocks. I remember in the past even the most affluent Tibetans bought jewelry only to adorn themselves, with no thought of investment," he continued.

What he said is true. According to statistics released by Lhasa Stock Exchange, the number of investors has risen to more than 15,000, with half being Tibetans.

Even more surprising is that some Tibetan investors have poured over one million yuan into the stock market.

Eight Tibet-based companies are listed on the Shenzhen and the Shanghai stock exchanges with total assets of 3.729 billion yuan.

So far, they have realized 1.984 billion yuan from the sale of shares.

Cewang, a local stock investor said that the newspaper's "Stock Market" page brought the convenience of accurate and up-to-date information about changes in the stock market.

Liu Bin, president of the Tibet Evening News said that in keeping with the market economy, the newspaper is only partly funded by the government. The remaining finance is raised by the company. Advertising is the major source of this income.

Fortunately, more Tibet-based companies are realizing the importance of promoting their goods and building their business image by advertising. Therefore, advertising space can be easily sold at a good price.

Sogmo, an old Tibetan lady told Xinhua that her eldest son had bought a new apartment at the end of last year but it has not yet been decorated and furnished.

"I cannot give him suggestions myself because I have no knowledge of furnishing, but I can collect the newspaper's fashion pages which always contain professional suggestions on interior decoration and give them to my son to study," she continued.

Miqiong, a movie lover, persuaded her friends to see "Big Shot's Funeral" with her after she spotted the movie's review in the entertainment page of the "Tibet Economic Daily".

Statistics show that the per capita disposable income of Tibetan citizens reached 7,090 yuan last year, 4.34 times than that of 1990. The rise in income makes it possible for citizens to afford paid entertainment.

In 2001, the financial pages of the Tibet Evening News and the Tibet Economic Daily became popular with readers as the local economy developed rapidly and more readers considered reading financial news a part of their daily life.

On April 22, 1956, Tibet published its first newspaper, known as the Tibet Daily. Today, the newspaper, with both Tibetan and mandarin editions, publishes 48 pages every day from May 1 to October 31 and 36 pages from November 1 to April 30.

Another two major newspapers, the Tibet Economic Daily and the Tibet Evening News each have 16 pages daily.

Bigger and bigger newspapers not only offer an increasing range of information to readers, but also reflect the Tibetan's expanding lives.

(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2002)