It is reported that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been opened to traffic for 10 years, promoting the development of Tibet’s economy that maintains the average annual growth rate of 10 percent.
With a total length of 1,956 kilometers, Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the highest railway in the world. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway began operation on July 1, 2016, introducing railway transportation into Tibet for the first time in history.
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway broke Tibet’s long-term transport bottleneck. Since then, Tibet has formed a three-dimensional transportation pattern including railway, highway and aviation. Personal transportation costs have reduced by more than half. The quantity of freight transported to and from Tibet has increased greatly.
According to the data, after the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Tibet’s GDP soared from RMB 34.2 billion yuan (about 5.29 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006 to RMB 102.6 billion yuan (about 15.86 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015, at an average annual growth rate of 10 percent. Fu Yutao, director of the Railway Office of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, said that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has greatly contributed to the development of Tibet’s economy and become an accelerator for Tibet’s economic and social development.
Before the opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, a saying went like that “Going abroad is easier than going to Tibet”. In 2005, the round trip air ticket from Beijing to Lhasa was more than RMB 4,000 yuan (about 618 U.S dollars). Since the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been opened to the public, a large number of tourists from both home and abroad flock to Tibet. Enjoying convenient transport, low price and comfortable conditions, Qinghai-Tibet Railway links Tibet to other parts of China more closely.
Based on the data from the Tourism Development Committee of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, over the past ten years, Tibet totally received 88 million tourists form home and abroad. The tourism revenue increased from RMB 1.94 billion yuan RMB (about 299.9 million U.S. dollars) 28 billion yuan RMB (about 432.88 million U.S. dollars) in 2015.
The opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway also makes a great difference on the local life. Farmers and herdsmen along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are benefited from Qinghai-Tibet Railway’s strong freight capacity.
Since the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Jampa, a farmer from Damshung County of Tibet’s Lhasa, opened an inn and bought 10 tents used for tourists who tour to Namtso, one of Tibet’s three holy lakes. After a half year, Jampa made more than 10,000 yuan RMB (about 1,546 U.S. dollars).
The opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway also changes the thinking patterns and ideas of the local, especially the youth’s life and work. Nowadays, KFC, bars, fitness centers and 3D cinemas are opened in the business center of Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
More and more people from Tibet take train to other provinces of China for traveling, studying and commercial business, which broadens their horizons and helps them learning the advanced management ideas and creative spirit, accelerating the building of modern life.
Nowadays, a three-dimensional transportation system has been formed, which is an important foundation for rapid development of economy and society.
In August of 2014, Lhasa-Shigatse Railway was put into service. In June of 2015, the construction of Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway was in full swing. The development potential and the radiation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway play a significant role.
Every day, there are about 30 trains running on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, transporting 9100 passengers. Food, building materials and other big commodities are transported to Tibet via this railway. Yak meat, yogurt, Tibetan handicrafts and other specialties are delivered to other provinces, promoting the development of Tibet’s economy and society, and national unity.
Qinghai-Tibet Railway is just one of main projects reflecting the rapid development of China’s railway transportation. China will still improve national railway system. Sichuan-Tibet Railway has been listed as an important project in the 13th Five-Year Plan. It will shorten the time of transportation between Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.
