London, November 3. According BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, "Gyigu, a 800-km drive from Xining, Qinghai Province, is the capital of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. In the markets one can see peddlars selling Tibetan-style knifes, sheepskins, woollen fabrics and medicines, as well as imported goods. One can discuss business with people from various parts of the country, including pedlars from Gansu Province, tailors and shoe-repairers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and construction teams from Sichuan Province. The most active groups seem to be those from eastern Qinghai and Gansu, which handle about half of the business involving livestock products and Chinese caterpillar fungi. The arrival of these business people, who account for one third of the local population, has helped promote markets in the town. Gyigu has set up markets for timber, grain, animal by-products, vegetables and medicines. Deals on animal by-products market involve 10,000 tons of beef and mutton, 1,700 tons of wool and 5

,700 tons of cashmere a year. Local officials attribute the market boom in Gyigu to the government policy of providing preferential treatment to business people from outside. This year the local government has lowered rents and allowed the vegetable and fruit pedlars to be exempt from managerial fees. Moreover, the government has organized business people from the outside to help train local residents wishing to go into business. Han Wenlu, commissioner of the prefecture, said that the development of Gyigu reflects the development of the Tibetan-inhabited regions as a whole on the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau. In the past 40 years, the town has expanded from one sq km to 20 sq m, while its population has increased 10 times to 28,000. Meanwhile, the town has built houses with a total floor space of 500,000 sq.m., 10 km of new roads, seven hospitals, seven schools and dozens of enterprises. (EuroTibet News nr.5)