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

XINING (Nov. 1) XINHUA - Northwest China's Qinghai province has reported a record harvest of 1.225 billion kilograms of grain this year, 80 million kilograms more than last year.

A provincial official attributed the good harvest to the government's policy of raising the grain purchase prices early this year and awarding those who produced more grain with chemical fertilizer, sending officials and scientists to rural areas to help farmers with farming, and the ideal weather conditions.

A survey showed that areas for grain production this year reached 402, 000 hectares, up 12,000 hectares over 1995.

Good grain harvest was also reported earlier in a dozen provinces and more and they included Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hebei, Hubei, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Jilin, Gansu, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.