About 250,000 Tibetan farmers and herdsmen and their families -- 47,000 households -- will move into new houses by the end of the year, according to officials with the government of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Government statistics show that the region has invested about 2.5 billion yuan (US$320 million) in housing projects this year, as it endeavors to improve housing conditions for 80 percent of its farmers and herdsmen by the end of 2010.

Most of the new residences come with a functional sewage system and separate barns, and some better-off Tibetans, such as those in Gongbo'gyamda County of Linzhi Prefecture, have moved into spacious, ornate two-storey houses, according to the local government.

Better residences have improved local people's lives. Meanwhile, statistics show that their earnings have risen by 179 million yuan (US$23 million) this year.

The local government is also building electricity, water and transportation facilities to improve living conditions.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2006)