Railway facilitates tourism

Source: CCTV.com

06-27-2006 08:45

Staying with railways, and Qinghai and the Tibet Autonomous Regions are famous tourist destinations in China, but high altitude and difficult terrain make traveling difficult. That'll change with completion of the Gulmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. He Yuan takes a look at what passengers can see along the way.

30 kilometers south of Golmud, the railway departs from the Qaidam Basin and meanders into the Kunlun mountain range. Within two hours, the altitude rises to over 4,000 meters. And the temperature drops to below freezing point. The trip might not be cozy, but it is rewarding... with all the unique sights of the plateau. Six viewing points are built along the railway at major scenic spots allowing passengers to get a better view and to take photographs.

The rail line passes through five nature reserves along its route. The most appealing among the five might be the Hohxil Reserve... It is the largest habitat of the endangered Tibetan antelope. 1.5 billion yuan, or nearly 200-million US dollars have been invested to prevent the railway from affecting the ecological environment along its way.

The itinerary is no short of shopping stops either. The famous Bajiao Street, in Lhasa, is one of the best places in the country to search for Tibetan style jewelry and artifacts... such as Tibetan opera masks, Thangka Buddhist paintings, carpets and swords.

Editor:Chen Minji