Lhasa market combines color and hustle
( 2005-09-24 )

If you enjoy cheap, fresh farm products, a farmers' market is an ideal choice. And it's also a good place to learn about the local lifestyle. Today, we go to the largest farmers' market inLhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, for a look at the real life of the local people.

Busy putting vegetables onto their stands for sale, vendors begin their business very early in the morning.

Every type of farm product grown around the country can be found here.

The market is divided into different sections for vegetables, meat, and other foods.

55-year-old Lao Pan is one of the most successful stallholders in the market. After starting independently, he now has his wife, daughter, son and daughter-in-law involved in the business. Now, he's got eight stands in the market, and business is growing bigger.

A vendor said: "I started this business in 1986. Initially, very few categories of farm products were available, and delivery was not easy either. But things have now changed, we can get our hands on a variety of farm products, locally-grown or brought in from other areas. I can say we have wider range of farm products than any other city across the country, includingBeijing,Shanghai, andXi'an."

What he said is echoed by local buyers in the market.

A local resident said: "The changes have been huge. We couldn't buy so many kinds of farm products in the past, but we can now buy almost everything available elsewhere in the country."

The bustling modern marketplace looks exactly like markets found all over the country, with only the colorful traditional costumes setting it apart. Such is real life in Lhasa.

Editor: Joey