Through Tanggula

<正>This is the origin of three of the most famous rivers in China:the Yangtze River,River Lancangjiang and Nujiang. Here,the attempt by Genghis Khan to advance into the Indian subcontinent was thwarted and crushed. This is the gateway from Qinghai Province to Tibet and the natural boundary between the administrative regions of Qinghai and Tibet. This is also the highest point on four highways into Tibet:Sichuan-Tibet,Qinghai-Tibet,Yunnan-Tibet, and Xinjiang-Tibet,as well as the highest point on the highest railway in the world. It was more than 50 years ago that the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway(China National Highway 109)was begun.The Qinghai-Tibet Railway was opened in 2006.This was the most challenging section during the constructions(due to its high elevation). Between 1991 and 2009,I drove through Tanggula four times.     

PHOTO EXHIBITION MARKING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY OPEN TO TRAFFIC HELD IN BEIJING

正The photo exhibition celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet railway open to traffic was held in Beijing from July 1 st to 16th.Sponsored by China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited,the exhibition collected more than 300 photos and painting works,showing the construction achievement of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and the social and economic development it brings to the snowy plateau.     

MINISTER ON BUIL DING OF THE QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY——AN INTERVIEW WITH RAILWAY VICE-MINISTER SUN YONGFU

Editor＇s Note：Sun Yongfu is now vice-minister of railways. In 1962, when he graduated from the Department of Bridges and Tunnels of the Changsha Railway Institute of Hunan Province, he was assigned to work in the Zhengzhou Railway Bureau. In a survey of the bearing capacity of railway bridges, he examined bridges one by one from Zhengzhou in Henan Province to Wuhan in Hubei Province. On this basis, he produced the studies that made him famous and led to his promotion as one of the senior technical personnel. In the ensuing years, he participated in construction of a number of railways, including the Sichuan-Guizhou, Guizhou- Kunming, Chengdu-Kunming and Hunan-Guizhou lines. He also participated in the China-aided construction of the railway between Tanzania and Zambia. In 1984, Sun was promoted to be vice-minister of railways and was put in charge of national planning and construction. He presided over the construction of some 10,000 km of trunk line, including the Beijing-Kowloon, Datong-Qinhuangdao, Nanning-Kunming and Hengyang-Guangzhou railways. In early 2001, Premier Zhu Rongji proposed Sun to be the deputy head of the leading group for the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, taking charge of the routine work. In the document Premier Zhu signed, Sun was allowed to enjoy treatment due to a minister （instead of a vice-minister）. On June 29, 2001, when the inauguration ceremony for construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was held in Lhasa,     

CARE FOR QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY BUILDERS

The Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, extending 1,118 km and lying at an average elevation of some 3,000 meters above sea level, includes a 965 km section at 4,000 meters and a 140 km part at 5,000 meters. The highest railway bed, found in the Tanggula Mountain Pass, is 5,072 meters above sea level. The oxygen content in the air is 38-46 percent less than in the plains. Scarcity of oxygen and low atmospheric pressure affects human health and working ability, causing low wor…     

THE LHASA - SHIGATSE RAILWAY LINE OPENS

The Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, the second railway in Tibet Autonomous Region and also an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, was officially put into use on August 15, 2014, The 251 kilometers railway links the regional capital Lhasa and Shigatse, the second-largest city in the region. It has a total of 14 stops including Lhasa, Xicrong, Chushur, Nyemo, Rinbtmg and Shigatse and reduces the travel time from the current six hours by highway to around three hours. The first passenger train left Lhasa for Shigatse at 9 a.m. August 16, 2014.     

Green Railway on the Roof of the World

正The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a key area for global biodiversity preservation and also a priority area for the Biodiversity Preservation Program of China.Building a railway in such an environment is an unprecedented magnificent feat in the history of railway construction.During the construction of the QinghaiTibet Railway,a strict environmental protection strategy was applied with a     

Challenging the Limit of Life （Ⅰ）

In early November 2004, the TAR Federation of Trade Unions and its female workers committee cited female workers in the forefront of track-laying with the China Railway No. 11 Bureau Group. It was the first time for me to come to Amdo to interview this group of women who toil at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters in disregard of freezing cold nights.     

Absurd Worries——Certain People＇s Reaction to Construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway

About 50 years ago, people going into and out of Tibet could only rely on their own backs and pack-horses to transport something. Then,it would take more than 100 days to go to the hinterland from Lhasa, and a round trip would take about a year. The QinghaiTibet Railway will tell the world that the only region without a railway in China will soon lose this title. This is obviously an exciting and great event!     

Model of Environmental Protection-Eyewitness to the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

At the Premier's Working Conference of the State Council on February 8, 2001, Premier Zhu Rongji decided to go ahead with the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, considering it was a well-timed move with opportune conditions.Before this, the railway sections entering Tibet had been constructed northward and southward. The Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, 815 km. in length, had been established by railway engineering corps and put into use in 1984. And construction of the Guang-     

NEW BOOKS

Ecological and Environmental Security along the Qinghai- Tibet Railway
The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was a significant event in China and also for the world. The unique and fragile natural environment of the plateau raised a series of complications during the construction, including the frozen soil, the protection of the ecoenvironment and the effectiveness of economic advancement along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. From 2001 to 2006, Chinese scientists, supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology,     

Railway Built on permafrost

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway traverses a 550-km-long section of permafrost, from Xidatan, on northern slope of the Kunlun Mountain, to Amdo, at the southern foot of Tanggula Mountain.     

Absurd Worries——Certain People's Reaction to Construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway

About 50 years ago, people going into and out of Tibet could only rely on their own backs and pack-horses to transport something. Then, it would take more than 100 days to go to the hinterland from Lhasa, and a round trip would take about a year. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will tell the world that the only region without a railway in China will soon lose this title. This is obviously an exciting and great event! Given the hard natural condition as well as many streams of people and cargos, it is still difficult to transport them by plane and automobile.     

A SALUTE TO THE NORTHERN TIBET AN HIGHLAND RECORD OF THE QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY PATROL TEAM

Extending for 1,956 kilometers from Xi’ning of Qinghai in the east to the city of Lhasa in the west,the Qinghai-Tibet Railway traverses the broad highland as well as a deserted no-man’s land in the Northern Tibet.As the highest and the longest railway in the world,it employs multiple security measures,the most ancient of which is to maintain a watch by employing human overseers. This involves a unique group,the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Patrol Team that undertakes this special task.The team carries out a strict management with military discipline.Every day,the patrol team members work hard in this lonely and deserted place.Once you take the Qinghai-     

ALL TUNNELS ON LHASA-NYINGCHI RAILWAY COMPLETE

正Construction on the last two (Mainling Tunnel and Zagar Tunnel) of the 47 tunnels pertaining to a railway linking Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet Autonomous Region has been completed on April 7.Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is a section of Sichuan-Tibet Railway,which is the first electrified railway in Tibet with a total length of 435 km and a designated speed of 160 km per hour.It is expected to be completed by the end of 2020,and start operation in 2021.     

A Storm of Changes Sweep over Tibetan Farmers and Herdsmen Led by the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway

From the opening traffic of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway,a major restriction on transportation to and from Tibet was finally removed. Such a change has had a massive impact on the economy of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as a whole and,in particular,on the rural Tibetans.In other words,the railway became a leading force in the re- structure and advancement of the Tibetan economy.     

QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY:Artery Vital for the Roof of the World

Major media in Chinareported on their frontpages on February 8,2001 that China is tobuild the Qinghai-Tibet Railway as amajor project undertaken during the10th Five-Year Plan (2001 -2005).Extending l,118 km, the railway willsnake from Golmud in Qinghai toLhasa in the Tibet AutonomousRegion. When it is built, China's western, central and eastern parts will bejoined.Upon completion of the railway,coal and oil resources in northwestChina will be transported to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, p…     

A Storm of Changes Sweep over Tibetan Farmers and Herdsmen Led by the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway

From the opening traffic of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway,a major restriction on transportation to and from Tibet was finally removed. Such a change has had a massive impact on the economy of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as a whole and,in particular,on the rural Tibetans.In other words,the railway became a leading force in the re- structure and advancement of the Tibetan economy.     

Lies Do Not Hold Water

Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to the four countries of South Asia, including India,in April. The visit was a success and received a widespread warm response.One result was that China and India established “relations of strategic partnership for peace and prosperity”, and established the political guidelines to be used on presently unresolved border issues. All people harboring good intentions and who love peace are happy to see the progress made by the two most populous countries in the world and believe it will help promote peace not only in Asia but in the world at large.     

HAPPY STORIES ON THE QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY

正On July 1st 2006,the Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was formally opened.The operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has made it possible for the whole world to understand Tibet,letting more people approach the region and get to know it better.Meanwhile,plenty of ordinary stories happening on     

Tibetan Antelopes Running At the Foot of Snow Moutains

I have been to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau four times.After the first visit, I became determined to visit all nature reserves in China; during the second visit, I came to understand where the real zoo for wildlife in the world is located.After the second visit, I also saw how the longest river in China was fed with drops of water from the Gyian-gudiru Glacier at its source.After the third visit, I still recall what 1 saw there: a halo around the sun over the Potala Palace and snow-covered mountains with an elevation of over