A: Tibet has a vast territory with a sparse population, its geology and topography are diverse and its climate is harsh. Before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, it had not one modern highway. The Dalai Lama brought a car back from abroad, but it first had to be dismantled, its parts physically carried back to Tibet, and then re-assembled. Tibet's complicated terrain and harsh weather have made road construction a monumental task. On December 25, 1954, soldiers of the People's Liberation Army completed the first highways in Tibet -the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and Sichuan-Tibet Highway. Since then, the government has constructed the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, the Yunnkan-Tibet Highway, the China-Nepal Highway and trunk and feeder highways within the region. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the central government invested over 4 billion yuan in highway construction in Tibet, completing about 40 projects. More than 1,000 kilometers of roads have either been surfaced with asphalt or newly constructed, and some old roads have been renovated. on the basis of the first phase renovation of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the repair of sever bridges on the China-Nepal Highway, and improvement of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, the government has invested another 600 million yuan in the second phase renovation of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, while the Sichuan-Tibet, Qinghai-Tibet, Xinjiang-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet highways have all been renovated. By the end of 1999, Tibet's highway mileage amounted to 24,800 kilometers, and its civilian motor vehicles totaled 47,000, the annual volume of goods transported totaled 2.66 million tons, and the annual volume of passengers transported totaled 2.37 million. For the Tenth Five-Year-Plan, an anticipated 23.7 billion yuan will be invested in highway construction in Tibet, including 47 key projects, and it is planned to renovate and build 6.580 kilometers of highway. The quality of three north-south trunk highways and two east-west trunk highways will be improved, and simple roads will be constructed in 100 townships, 13 frontier check points, and some 600 villages. By the end of 2005, it is expected that Tibet will have 30,000 kilometers of highways, and its transportation will therefore be greatly improved.