Qinghai-Tibet Railway Celebrates 4th Anniversary

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway was the first railway to connect Tibet with the outside world. July 1 marks the 4th anniversary of the railway's opening. How has the world's highest train route benefited Tibet during the past 4 years? Yingying talked with Lin Zhigang, an official with the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation.

A train is leaving Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China for Lhasa, capital of Tibet autonomous region. According to Lin Zhigang, an official with Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation, by the end of June, more than 29 million passengers and 130 million tons of cargo had been transported along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway since the line opened in July 2006.

Lin says, the line, considered to be a large artery linking the "roof of the world" with the rest of China, has greatly boosted economic development in Tibet.

"The effect is quite obvious. In 2009, Tibet's tourist industry saw a huge development, and its GDP exceeded 40 billion Yuan, or 5.9 billion US dollars, which is up 59.4% compared to the figure in 2006. According to Tibet's tourism bureau, more than 5.5 million people visited Tibet in 2009. Compared with 2007, the number has gone up 40%."

Before the opening of the railway, flights were the main way to carry passengers to Lhasa. Many experts were concerned the Qinghai-Tibet Railway would impact the airline business in Tibet. But according to Lin Zhigang, the fact is quite the opposite.

"Actually, both the railway and airline industry are booming simultaneously. Many people choose to go to Tibet by train, as they can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way to Lhasa and adapt to the high altitude. But they choose to leave Lhasa by air."

Lin says tourism is not the only industry in Tibet that has benefited from the railway; the local handicrafts, beef and mutton as well as dairy industries are also booming.

"Now the logistics industry in Tibet is very busy. Many local products are in mass production. But in the past, this was not possible due to bad and expensive transportation. Now the railway is transporting a large number of local products outside Tibet for a much cheaper charge, only 0.12 Yuan per ton per kilometer."

Lin Zhigang believes the 1,956-kilometer railway, built at a cost of 33 billion Yuan, will further benefit Tibet's development in many more areas in the future.

For CRI, I'm Yingying in Xining, Qinghai Province.