Guide Note: The Beijing Lhasa Railway is a rail route completed on July 1, 2006. The section of track between Golmud, in northwestern China and Lhasa, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, contains the highest section of rail line in the world and passes through the highest rail tunnel in the world. The majority of this route is on permafrost. The engineering challenges for the construction of the railway were immense. Construction took five years and cost $3.68 billion. China argues that the railway will foster tourism and help economic and industrial development in the region. Critics point to the environment impact and also the effect on the indigenous culture of Tibet.

Fast Facts:

Construction began June 29, 2001
Finished on July 1, 2006
Total cost $3.68 billion
Total length 1,215 miles
80% over 13,123 feet
Tanggula Pass, 16,640 feet, is the highest rail track in the world
It takes 48 hours to travel from Beijing to Lhasa

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Beijing Lhasa Railway

Also try: Tibet Autonomous Region | Tibet Protests 2008

Beijing Lhasa Railway News

Wikipedia: Qingzang Railway
Google News: Beijing Lhasa Railway
The American: The Lhasa Frontier (February, 2007)
- "Between 2001 and 2006, the People’s Republic of China spent $4 billion building a 710-mile rail line to connect the western Chinese city of Golmud and Tibet’s ancient capital, Lhasa. The new connection completes a 2,525-mile route across China that is no less important than the rail link between the east and west coasts of the United States, finished in 1869 when the "golden spike" was hammered at Promontory Summit, Utah."
The Guardian: The Railway Across the Roof of the World | World News | the Guardian (Spetember 20, 2006)
Washington Post: Train 27, Now Arriving Tibet, in a 'Great Leap West' (July 4, 2006)
BBC News: First Beijing Train Reaches Lhasa (July 3, 2006)
- "The line boasts high-tech engineering to stabilise tracks over permafrost and oxygen pumped into cabins to help passengers cope with the high altitude."
China Daily: Beijing-Lhasa Train Tickets Selling Fast (June 29, 2006)
People's Daily: Direct Beijing-Lhasa Train Available for Travelers Next July (December 12, 2005)

Beijing Lhasa Railway Blogs and Commentaries

Miami Herald: Riding the Rails of 'Progress' From Beijing to Tibet (March 23, 2008)
The Travel Journal: The Most Luxurious Train in the World - Beijing to Lhasa (March 11, 2008)
Shanghaiist: Beijing-Lhasa Railway Sinking (March 4, 2007)

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Tibet Autonomous Region | Tibet Protests 2008

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