CRI听力: Monastery Drives Industry in Shigatse

Anchor: Tashilhunpo Monastery, located in Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city, is a historic and culturally important lama temple that drives not only tourism, but also other industries in the city.

Ying Ying has more.

Gang-Gyen carpet factory is the biggest carpet factory in the city of Shigatse. The factory produces 2,000 square meters of traditional Tibetan wool carpets annually and sells them directly to customers in its showroom. Gesang Nima is the managing director of the factory.(www.hXen.com)

"Most of our clients are visitors from Western countries. Now we receive 50-60,000 foreign tourists every year. The output value of the factory is over one million yuan per year. Forty-four percent of the profit goes to workers, 16 percent is spent on improving the production and the rest is for the Tashilhunpo Monastery."

Founded in 1477 by the first ** Lama, Tashilhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the successive Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism.

The tenth Panchen Lama established the Gang-Gyen carpet factory in 1988 as part of the Gang-Gyen Development Corporation. The corporation consists of ten other businesses, including hotels, a furniture factory and a transportation company. Gesang Nima explains their management principle.

"Our corporation operates on the principle of self-support of the monastery, so as to relieve the economic burden of the city. Take the carpet factory, for example. Ninety-five percent of the staff members never receive any education. We provide them technical guidance and job opportunities. In the meantime, we also aim to promote traditional Tibetan handicrafts to the world."

Now with 480 employees, the annual turnover of Gang-Gyen Development Corporation exceeds 100 million yuan. Besides value creation, Tashilhunpo Monastery also makes large contributions in expanding the local market demands. Tibetan incense is a staple consumer product of the monastery. Pu Bu is the director of Minzhulin (Name to be confirmed) incense factory in Shigatse.

"I set up the factory 18 years ago. Now it has 15 employees and the annual net profit is more than one million yuan. The supply now kind of falls short of demand. The monastery is our major fixed client. We also sell the products to others in the Shigatse area and even some places in Sichuan Province."

The other consumers Pu Bu refers to include local Tibetans and tourists. According to statistics, Tashilhunpo Monastery now attracts 4,000 to 6,000 tourists per month. By the end of 2009, the number is expected to reach 650,000 and the total tourism revenue will be 2,800 million yuan. But obviously, the monastery can do much more than just attract these tourists, considering the great benefits it has already created for various industries developing in Shigatse.

Ying Ying, CRI News.