A large bookstore has opened in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the biggest bookstore in Tibet, and better satisfies the local people's growing cultural demands.

The bookstore also serves as a distribution center to deliver Tibetan books to other places across China.

Our reporter Liu Yan has more.

Reporter:

The newly opened Tibet Xinhua Bookstore covers an area of more than 3,000 square meters.

It provides readers with more than 50,000 books and magazines, as well as audiovisual products on topics ranging from literature, education, and science to art, tourism and cooking. The new store is 40 percent larger than the second-largest bookstore in the region.

La Zhen, assistant manager of the bookstore, says more citizens in Lhasa now understand the importance of knowledge, and are more willing to read books.

"The bookstore is intended to enrich the cultural life of our people. It can also satisfy the different demands of our readers."

A reader surnamed Deng says the new store is already popular among local citizens.

"The bookstore is indeed very impressive. It has all kinds of books you can think of."

La Zhen says the store is the biggest provider of Tibetan books in China. And its function as a distribution center serves to satisfy the needs of Tibetan culture aficionados around the country.

"Now Tibet meets the primary demand for Tibetan books. But we can also expand our business to other cities in China if such needs increase."

La Zhen says the bookstore can meet the customers' diverse cultural needs. She hopes as more and more people pick up books, her bookstore can contribute to the advancement of education and culture in Tibet.

Liu Yan, CRI News.