The world knows China is building a railway from Qinghai to Tibet, a project that began in the early days of this new century. The Tibetans hail it as a golden bridge. How much progress has been made in this regard Beginning with this issue, we will devote some space to this subject.





Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, first discussed soon after the founding of the PRC and to scheduled to consume investment of 19.4 billion Yuan, commenced on June 29, 2001. The commencement ceremony was held simultaneously at three places Beijing (the chief ceremony site), Lhasa Railway Station and Nanshan Mouth at Golmud. The railway is expected to bring wealth to the Tibetans and will link the western regions of China with its middle and eastern regions.

In 2002, some 5.32 billion Yuan of investment was consumed to lay rails extending 121 km, dig tunnels through Kunlunshan and Fenghushan Mountains and build bridges spanning the Sanchahe and Xueshuihe Rivers. The Railway bridges spanning the Balhadacai, Qingshui and Curmar Rivers are almost finished. Three problems standing on the way of the construction projectpermafrost, high altitude cold and scarcity of oxygen are being solved.

The construction project proceeds smoothly.

Decision Made

With an average elevation of 4,000 meters, Tibet relies heavily on highways and air routes in transportation and communications. It is the only one of the provincial-level regions in China, which is still inaccessible by railway. Such a situation hinders economic development.

Investigations were first undertaken in the early 1950s for construction of a railway leading into the region. In 1958, leaders of the Central Government, led by Mao Zedong, showed concern for such a project, and, as a result, construction of a railway extending from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, to Golmud in the province began. In 1979, the rails were laid as far as Golmud. But for geographic and other reasons, especially dealing with permafrost, the section from Golmud to Lhasa was not commenced, although efforts to study ways and means for solution of these problems continued.

At the first session of the Eighth National Peoples Congress, the Tibetan delegation proposed a motion for construction of the railway. The Central Government gave the proposal high priority, and efforts were made to choose the best route from several candidates, including Qinghai-Tibet, Yunnan-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet and Gansu-Tibet railways.


At the request by the State Council, the State Planning Commission summoned a hearing on construction of the railway in Beijing, and the meeting minutes were filed with the State Council for examination and decision.

At the regular meeting of the State Council on February 8, 2001, Premier Zhu Rongji said the time was ripe for construction of the railway!

Safety Measures

The section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, extending 1,118 km from Golmud to Lhasa, contains 965 km of line at an elevation over 4,000 meters. To cope with harmful effects confronting the builders, the construction headquarters decided to throw in comparatively less manpower and give them a comparatively light workload.

Experts proposed mechanized work; work shifts were increased and shorter shifts were introduced; local people accustomed to the local conditions were employed.

To guarantee the smooth progress of the construction project, the Qinghai Plateau Medical Science Research Institute is working hard to develop new drugs to help builders to combat scarcity of oxygen.


From the commencement of the construction project to November 2002, the Tibet Yakang Natural Drug Co. Ltd. donated 700,000 Yuan worth of Hongjintian Oral Liquid, a Tibetan product with good effect in combating scarcity of oxygen.

Other pharmaceuticals companies also went to sell the same brand liquid at the construction site.

On September 2, 2002, an 800,000-Yuan oxygen production station was set up at a construction sub-headquarters in the Amdo area, which is 700 km from Golmud and some 400 km from Lhasa. It has state-of-the-art equipment to produce 20 cubic meters of oxygen per hour. Experts believe oxygen produced in 12 hours can satisfy the one-hour need of 2,000 builders on a daily basis.

Train With Oxygen Facilities

According to the reliable sources, the worlds first train complete with oxygen facilities and medical doctors steeped in knowledge of plateau diseases will be adopted. Train speed will be increased to enable passengers in Golmud to reach Lhasa in the same day.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway passes through Qinghai for 564 km and the area bisected by the railway has an average elevation of over 4,000 meters. In addition to the first-aid station set up in Chaidam, the so-called dry dock of Tibet, four more are to be set up at intervals of 150 km at Nachitai, Xidatan, Tutuhe and Tanggula.

Each of the new first-aid stations is to cover a construction area of 150-300 square meters, housing oxygen producing machines, first-aid medicines and ambulances. Each of them will be staffed with 10 medical doctors and orderlies to be employed from Xining, Haixizhou and Golmud, plus young volunteers.

From: China' Tibet Magazine