Lhasa to hold trade fair during Shoton Festival

　　BEIJING, Aug. 19 -- A trade fair is slated to open on in Lhasa Thursday, the day when the 2009 Lhasa Shoton Festival begins, according to the Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau of Lhasa City on Monday.

　　The annual Shoton Festival(or Yogurt Festival), held on the first day of the seventh month according to the Tibetan calendar, is one of the major festivals in Tibet.

　　The Potala Palace Square is decorated with flowers and the Shoton Festival logo to greet the festival in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 13, 2009. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

　　At the two-day fair, a total of 54 projects with a combined investment of 8.22 billion yuan (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) will be recommended.

　　The fair will cover a wide range of scopes, including the tourism and culture industries, Tibetan medicine, the mining industry, farm products and livestock by-products, and infrastructure construction.

　　Meanwhile, another 21 projects with Tibetan characteristics will be specially highlighted at the fair.

　　Attending the fair will be more than 200 representatives from enterprises across China and officials of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government.