News, publishing, broadcasting, film and television
( 2005-10-26 )

There was no genuine news and publishing industry in Tibet before its peaceful liberation, and the materials printed by the few wood-blockprintinghouses almost all involved scriptures. Tibet's news and publishing industry has grown gradually from nothing since its peaceful liberation. Especially over the past 20 years, books, newspapers and audio-visual materials have made rapid progress, and a news and publishing system for the region has already taken initial shape.

Publishing is flourishing. Tibet has established four publishing houses and an audio-visual products duplication and manufacturing plant. The Tibet People's Publishing House has published over 6,600 book titles, with a distribution of over 78.9 million copies since it was founded some 30 years ago. Tibetan-language books account for approximately 80 percent, and nearly 100 titles have won national or regional prizes. At present, the region has the Tibet Xinhua Printing House and another 24 printing houses, and new technologies have been gradually introduced to printing enterprises, such as electronic composition, offset lithography, electronic color separation and polychrome printing.

There was no system of book distribution in Tibet before its peaceful liberation. But now, the region has 67 Xinhua bookstores at regional, prefectural and county levels. A network of book distribution coverings the region is now in place, offering a total of 90-odd million Tibetan-language books in more than 8,000 titles for the masses of Tibetan readers.

The publishing of newspapers and periodicals has also been developed steadily. The Tibet Daily started publication in 1956, and Tibetan Literature and Art in 1977. Now, a total of 52 newspapers and periodicals are published for the general public.

Tibet's broadcasting, film and television industries have also been developed gradually since its peaceful liberation. TheLhasaCable Broadcasting Station was established in 1953; wireless broadcasting was started in 1958; the Tibet People's Broadcasting Station was formally founded in 1959; black-and-white and color television programs were trial-broadcast in 1978 and 1979;Tibet Televisionwas established formally in 1985; and the Production Center of the Tibet Dubbed Radio and Television Programs was put into use in 1995.

In the last four decades and more, the state and the autonomous region have invested a total of 530 million yuan in Tibet's radio, film and television industries. The Central Government as well as provinces and municipalities have also given their support to Tibet by supplying it with a large number of equipment and materials, more than 200 technicians and cadres in five groups, and trained a galaxy of broadcasting, film and television professionals. At present, Tibet has two radio broadcasting stations, 36 medium- and short-wave radio transmitting and relay stations, 45 county-level FM relay stations, two wireless television stations, 354 television relay stations and 1,475 ground satellite stations, bringing radio and TV programs to 65 and 55 percent of the people in Tibet, respectively, and TV programs to 75 percent of the residents in Lhasa and its vicinity.

Seeing films is one of the main cultural activities of the broad masses of people in agricultural and pastoral areas. Tibet now has 436 cinemas, 650 grassroots film projection teams and more than 9,300 projection centers, showing more than 130,000 movies to 28.5 million people annually, averaging at least one show per farmer or herdsman per month. Films are dubbed in Tibetan in agricultural and pastoral areas so that farmers and herdsmen can understand them. Radio, film and television have become indispensable parts of the cultural lives of the people of various ethnic groups in Tibet.

Editor: Joey