(Xinhua is the Official Press Agency of the People's Republic of China)

LHASA (Oct. 30) XINHUA - Some 2,500 families in Lhasa, the capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, have moved into new homes in the past three years, thanks to a housing project of the Lhasa Real Estate Development Corporation.

Its goal is to renovate old housing in the old urban area, according to local officials. Since 1994, the municipal government has put 12 million yuan into the project, while the corporation has collected 36 million yuan for the project.

Average floor space per household rose from 29.2 sq m to 38.76 sq m after the project was completed, said Zhaxi Gyncai, general manager of the Lhasa Real Estate Development Corporation.

"I never dreamed that I could live in so spacious and cosy a Tibetan-style house before I am buried," 68 year-old Gesang said. "There is tap water and I no longer need to run about for a toilet. It's a pity that the butter lamp I've used for several dozen years will no longer be useful."

A total of 170,000 sq m of floor space in old dwellings was renovated over the three years, said Losang Dundrub, vice-chairman of the autonomous region.