BEIJING/LHASA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The People's Daily, the mouthpiece newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), began publishing a Tibetan-language edition Saturday.

The newspaper, run by the People's Daily and Tibet Daily, had four pages and would be circulated in Tibet Autonomous Region and areas inhabited by Tibetans in neighboring Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces, said a statement from Beijing-based People's Daily editorial office.

It would be printed in Lhasa, regional capital of Tibet, Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu and Qinghai provincial capital Xining, the statement said.

The newspaper aimed to contribute to the economic development, social progress, ethnic harmony and stability in Tibet with its news coverage, the statement said.

"We will try our best to provide accurate and timely news that relates to local people."

The newspaper would publish major guidelines of the Communist Party of China (CPC), policies and decisions made by the central government, including its ethnic policies, the statement said.

It is the first edition of People's Daily published in language of an ethnic minority group.

"All of the Tibetan editions of the People's Daily will be given free to villages, schools and temples," said Meng Xiaolin, editor-in-chief of the Tibet Daily that undertakes the translation, compiling and distribution work.

Meng said each village in the Tibetan-inhabited areas will get three copies for free, each primary or high school and temple will get two.

A total of 50,000 copies will be distributed for free, he said. In Tibet alone, about 20,000 copies will be distributed everyday.

Legqog, deputy secretary of the CPC Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee, said the publishing and distribution of the Tibetan edition of the People's Daily has been a "common wish and ardent aspiration" of the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet.

Chozin, a 26-year-old hotel attendant in Lhasa, told Xinhua Saturday it made her feel "good" to read the People's Daily in Tibetan language because she has been taught Tibetan since primary school.

"I not only can learn authoritative and accurate news and information through the paper, but also can improve my Tibetan reading and writing kills," she said.