A: On February 8, the State Council approved the plan to construct the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

 

Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway has been don the Central Government agenda since the 1950s. The First Surveying and Designing Institute of the Ministry of Railways began carrying out planning of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in 1956. in May 1974, building of the Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway started, and was completed in May 1984, but building of the Golmud-Lhasa section failed to commence.

 

Since completion, the Xining-Golmud section has played an important role in the development of Tibet. Today, over 85 percent of materials are transported into and 90 percent out of Tibet through Golmud.

 

China's railway networks are mainly concentrated in the East and Northeast. Although Tibet occupies one eighth of China's total area, it has no railways. This has greatly restricted the economic development of Tibet. These days, long-distance highway transportation can no longer meet the needs of economic and social development. In order to comply with the needs of western development, construction of a railway in Tibet is imperative. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the longest and highest plateau railway in the world. It is 1,925 kilometers long, with 960 kilometers at 4,000 meters above sea level. The railway's highest point, the Tanggula Mountain Pass, is 5,072 meters above sea level.

 

apart from the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, three other railways are also planned, namely the Gansu-Tibet, the Yunnan-Tibet, and the Sichuan-Tibet Railways. Construction conditions for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are more advantageous, in terms of its total length, the length and density of bridges and tunnels along the way, the time limit of the project, and the construction conditions, than the other railways. It will take only six years to complete the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, while the time estimated for construction of the other three railways is over 30 years each. 

 

The advent of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will greatly boost resource exploitation, thereby pushing forward Tibet's economic development, while tourism and cultural exchange between Tibet and the interior and foreign countries will also be greatly enhanced.