Starting from Friday, Beijingers will be able to buy specialties from Qinghai province, in Northwest China, without leaving the city.

The weeklong Qinghai Specialty Fair, which will be held in the Golden Resource New Yansha Mall, will offer more than 300 different Qinghai products.

It aims to introduce more Qinghai specialties to the Beijing market and 40 percent of the goods on offer will be in Beijing for the first time.

"We hope more foreign consumers will get to like our specialties by visiting the fair," Zhang said.

Highlights include yak jerky and Matrimony vine, and ethnic handcrafts, such as kunlun jade and Tibetan carpets.

All the products are directly from manufacturers and will be retailed at the fair at a reduced price, said Zhang Zhigang, deputy director of Qinghai provincial department of commerce. "We can guarantee the quality of all the goods," Zhang added.

A permanent Qinghai specialty shop called The Window of Qinghai will also open in Fengtai district on Friday.

As many as 13 companies from Qinghai will sell their goods through the shop, said Wang Xubin, president of the Qinghai Logistics and Procurement Association.

According to the Beijing Municipal Committee of Commerce, the Qinghai fair follows 15 fairs from other provinces since March this year and more than 8,500 specialties have been sold in Beijing during the past seven months.

The turnover of the previous 15 fairs totaled around 100 million yuan and 236 brands were introduced to Beijing through the fairs, said Lu Yan, director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Commerce.

"The fairs pave the way for specialties from other places to enrich the local market," Lu added.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/28/2010)