The Tenth Anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

The American train traveller Paul Theroux once said that there are the Kunlun Mountains, the train will never come to Lhasa. But, in July 2006, the Qinghai-Tibet railway was open to traffic which broke the imprudent assertion. It has been 10 years until now. When we look back over the past ten years, we can see more clearly the magical changes bought by the ‘Sky Road’― more and more Tibetan people can visit the world and the highland barely wine, yak meat, the ethnic handicrafts and other featured products can sell to the world by the train. These products increase not only the charm of Tibet, but also the income of Tibetan people. Certainly, the communication is a two-way street and the material is win-win. We can see that food, building material, electronic products, clothes and other mass goods have been transported into Tibet continuously which enrich and satisfy the Tibetan people’s life demands.

Moreover, in ten years, the passengers traveling on the railway are more than 100 million in total. The Tibetan tour industry has got a prosperously development. Meanwhile, many family hotels, Tibetan style restaurants and local specialty shops are opened by the local people. Many local people even choose to become the tour guide and trackman. In a manner of speaking, local people are fed by the train and tourism. It shows the Qinghai-Tibet Railway contributes a great share in Tibet development.

Nowadays, the ‘Sky Road’ is not only the transportation artery, but the ‘Happy Line’ of Tibetan people. Surly, the ‘Sky Road’ is still extending. Lhasa-Shigatse Railway was open to traffic in 2014 (Here is a tour plan about the train. You can choose to take the train to Shigatse and come back to Lhasa by bus to get a different view. If you are interested it you can click here) and the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is under completely construction.

If you want to get more information about the ‘Sky Road’, you can click the website: Qinghai-Tibet Railway.