Economy of Qinghai Province - Introduction, by ChinaReport.com

Main Pillars of the economy today are mining and petro-chemical industries. Qinghai is especially rich in minerals who's deposits are increasingly exploited. Minerals found in abundance include Kainite, asbestos, glauber's salt, silica and boron. Especially boron is found in no higher quantity than in Qinghai Province.

A total of 125 minerals have had their deposits verified. Of these, 50 are among the top ten in terms of reserves in the country and 11, including potassium chloride and magnesium salts, have the largest deposits of their kinds in China.

Of the 45 urgently needed minerals in China crucial for fabrication of among things telecommunications

A third main pillar of the Qinghai economy is that of animal raising. The grasslands of Qinghai are especially fit for raising horses, as well as sheep and Yak. In fact, once firmly under Chinese control and sealed behind the defenses of The Great Wall of China, the pasture-lands of the wider region of East Tibet were used for rasing the numerous rasing the horses needed by the Chinese Imperial Armies.

Rated as one of the five main pasturelands in China, Qinghai Province has 36.46 hectares of pastureland, accounting for 50.54 percent of the province’s total area.

The Fourth and last pillar of the economy in Qinghai Province is the relatively small but rapidly growing Tourism Industry which focusses on the natural beauties of the region as well as the minority cultures. Traditionally central in the tourism sector is the City of Xining and nearby Kumbum (Ta'Er) Monastery and the Qinghai Lake scenery.

Facilitated by now three airports in the Province the tourism industry focusses on traditionally on Xining, and currently more and more on the minority communities in North-East and South Qinghai. A few years ago Yushu airport was the third airport to be opened, connecting visitors directly from Xining to the Yushu (Gyêgu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (玉树藏族自治州). The opening op the the 1180 kilometer long Qinghai-Tibetan Railway (or Xinzang Railway) had opened en entirely new chapter in the economic development of Qinghai Province and the Tibet Region.

Tibet and Tibetans are fashionable if not 'Hot' in China and every year more middle-class visitors from China's large cities come and have a brief and superficial encounter with the Tibetan Culture (as it is presented by main stream Tourism industry).

Natural resources of the Tibetan Plateaux of which Qinghai is part are traditionally plentiful but are suffering from climatic changes. Of the wild plants discovered in Qinghai, some 1,000 have economic value, including over 100 medicinal herbs recognized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The caterpillar fungus -a peculiar ground-growing eatable fungus- in particular, is famous in China and abroad. The fungus is specific to these regions only. Qinghai has 290 kinds of birds and 109 species of mammal beasts, 21 of them being under first-class state protection, 53 being under second-class state protection, 36 being under provincial protection, and 22 having been listed in the International Trade Convention on Endangered Wild Animals and Plants (in Appendixes I and II).

The energy sector in Qinghai Province is well developed. Due to large scale funding by the central Government, especially since 2005 AD nearly all of the Province is supplied by a central electric energy grid. Qinghai Province is especially well off in terms of hydro-electric power. Large dams on the upper flows of the Yellow River (Huang He), the Jinsha and Yangzte River (Yangtze Jiang), the Lancang River (known further downstream as the Mekong) and several other main rivers have been constructed, completely altering the energy situation (and water household) in Qinghai Province. A previously remote and severely under-developed region with where only basic lifestyles were viable has progressed rapidly towards energy independence.

Today the province of Qinghai counts 178 hydropower stations with a total installed generation capacity of 21.66 million kilowatts and an annual generation capacity of 77 billion kwh. More energy infra-structure projects are under development, including wind-turbine parks.

Nevertheless unemployement is high and many poor villagers have become migrants workers in the factories and

equipment, car batteries, aircraft components and electronics, 21 are being mined in Qinghai province. In addition, Qinghai has more than 30 salt lakes with proved reserves of 70 billion tons of Salts. Qinghai is also rich in nonferrous metals and non-metallic minerals.

Qinghai Province is also surprisingly rich in Oil, Petrol and natural gas reserves. The Qaidam Basin in the North-West is the center of Oil and Gas Industry as well as the scene of frantic mining activity.

In total there are 16 oilfields and six gas fields in Qinghai Province (April 2010).

The total oil reserves present within the Province are estimated at 1.244 billion tons, of which 200 million tons have been explored at this Time. According to offcial sources the explored gas reserve is 47.2 billion cubic meters.

more than basic education. Large investments in infra-structure projects have solved part of the transportation problems, allowing children and teachers to reach towns and schools, but those who would like to seek higher education stil have very limited options.

In large parts of Qinghai Province the main languages spoken and understood are minority languages such as Tibetan and Mongolian. In Tongde County for instance, more than 90% of the population is Tibetan and speaks Tibetan. Use of Chinese spoken and written language has become one of the main spear-points of the Central Governments Education plan started in 2003.

Qinghai lacks qualified bilingual teachers, with fewer than half able to speak and use both Tibetan and Chinese in class. Some are not qualified teachers and have had only short-term pre-service or in-service training. The lack of teachers means they have very heavy workloads, making it impossible for them to undertake additional training.

In addition, there is no agreement on which is the best way how to teach the children.

Some feel there is no need whatsoever to preserve or teach Tibetan language and Culture. Many, especially Han migrants, see Chinese as the language of economy, the one language that will help their children pass exams, get a higher education, and provide a better economic future for the family within the frame-work of a larger China. In avery competitive society School administrators and teachers have also objected to bilingual education. Some fear that studying Tibetan will slow the learning of Chinese, and that any textbooks made available in Tibetan are not of sufficient quality to contain the curricula needed for national examinations. Insufficient textbooks means teachers' time is spent translating Chinese materials, which are not always culturally relevant to maintain student interest.

The Qinghai Earthquake that struck the region of Gyegu or Yushu Tibetan Autonomous County in south Qinghai on April 14Th 2010 has killed over 2200 people and rendered further 10 thousand homeless and in need of shelter and further help. Throughout 2010 and possibly beyond reconstruction will be underway. Electricity has been restored to region since a few days after the main shock occurred.