CONNECTIONS, CONSERVATION
With increasing investment from public and private sectors flooding into the region, infrastructure construction is proceeding more quickly than ever before, most notably in terms of transportation, water conservancy and energy.
Himalaya Airlines, a China-Nepal joint venture, was registered in Nepal this year and has started daily flights.
Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum in Beijing, sees tourism as a shortcut to increased Tibet's connectivity with South Asia. The autonomous region received over 20 million domestic visitors in 2015, up 5.5 percent and accounting for about 27 percent of the region's GDP.
Once integrated with other industries, culture and tourism will create new economic growth sources, according to chairman of Tibet's regional government Losang Jamcan.
Karan Sharma, a travel agent from India and a first-timer at the expo, pins high hopes on his company's New Delhi-Kathmandu-Tibet tour, and after only one day tour in Lhasa, he felt even more confident.
"I never thought Lhasa would be so modern. The city's infrastructure is so much improved," he said. "Better links between Tibet and South Asia will definitely bring strong opportunities in regional tourism and other industries."
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