Jinan funds development of Tibetan county

Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, plans to spend 110 million yuan ($17.89 million) on developing Bainang county, in the Xigaze prefecture of the Tibet autonomous region, in the city's seventh round of aid for the county, an official from Jinan said.

The latest round of aid started in June 2013 and is scheduled to last for three years.

"Currently 15 projects are under construction and they are expected to be completed before October 2015," said Zhai Jun, head of Jinan's seventh aid group and the Party chief of Bainang county.

"We put efforts into building infrastructure and projects that can benefit local residents in the long term, whether while we are working here or when we withdraw from the county," Zhai said.

Of the earmarked funds, 50 million yuan will be spent on infrastructure, such as road construction, and water systems, and landscaping the county.

Jinan has poured 340 million yuan into aiding Bainang county, which has an area of 2,759 square kilometers and is on average 4,200 meters above sea level.

A 7 million yuan tourism project is also under construction, Zhai said.

"The newly opened Lhasa-Xigaze railway goes through Bainang, which gives the county advantages to develop its tourism industry," he said.

The tourism site will have special areas where visitors can enjoy local agricultural products and appreciate folk art, Zhai said.

Currently, Bainang county has 5,620 vegetable greenhouses and last year produced 37.56 million kilograms of vegetables. The agricultural science park in Bainang is Tibet's only national class demonstration area for planting vegetables, Zhai said.