Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the roof of the world, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region used to be isolated, due to its inaccessibility.

But Tibet now has access to many newspapers, which allows local residents to catch up with political, economic and social events around the country and the world.

Many domestic newspapers like the Global Times and South Weekend contain information about China and overseas countries. Political and human interest stories are particularly popular among Tibetans.

Newspapers with sports and entertainment information also sell well in the region.

The local newspaper industry is also taking shape. The Tibet Economic Daily boasts 8,000 subscribers, according to statistics from the newspaper's publishing department.

The Lhasa Evening News now has more than 10,000 subscribers, said the director in charge of marketing for the paper. Television programmes also give Tibetans the chance to observe major world events.

In Tibet, 76 per cent of the population have television sets. More than 30 television and radio relay stations were built this year in the rural areas surrounding Lhasa. An increasing number of Tibetans is becoming hooked on the Internet.

(China Daily December 21, 2001)