Tourists choose gold decorations at a gold shop in Tancheng County in China's east Shandong Province on February 3 in 2012. The World Gold Council said Thursday world gold demand rose to 4,067.1 tonnes, a record high since 1997. As China's gold demand reached 769.8 tonnes last year, representing a rise of 20 percent year-on-year, China is expected for the first time to be the world largest gold market worldwide in 2012 (XINHUA) |