Tibet autonomous region on a transportation fast track
Construction of the LhasaNyingchi railway, which is part of the line that will link the Tibet autonomous region and Sichuan province, is progressing smoothly, with main structures of 16 railway viaducts and the Nyingchi station taking shape this year.
The Lhasa-Nyingchi section is the first electrified railway project in Tibet. It is designed to span 270 miles. Once complete, it will be the first railway in southeastern Tibet and provide the region with easy access to the Sichuan-Chongqing economic circle and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
The new railway project is the epitome of Tibet’s robust expansion in transport infrastructure since the autonomous region was founded 55 years ago.
Currently, the region has a comprehensive transport network featuring roads, railways and air routes. With a series of major transport infrastructure projects completed, the expanded network will play a crucial role in the region’s economic growth, improving life quality, tourism development and poverty alleviation.
In the past, there were no paved roads in Tibet, and the construction of modern roads didn’t start in the region until the 1950s. Despite financial difficulties at that time, roads linking neighboring Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, as well as other regions, were built. It was the beginning of Tibet’s modern transport network.
Government data show that by the end of 2019, the total length of roads in Tibet surpassed 64,500 miles, including 410 miles rated as high-level. In China, first and second-level roads, as well as expressways, are seen as high-level roads.
“Our goal is that by the end of this year, 65% of the roads across the autonomous region will reach the standard of highways at third level and above,” said Yanggyal , deputy head of Tibet’s Department of Transport.
“And all the townships and villages will be connected with roads — 95% of the townships and 75% of the villages linked with hard-surfaced roads,” the official said.
Maintenance and rescue services are helping to keep the roads through the plateau in good condition.
In June, heavy rains caused flash floods and mudslides, which damaged multiple sections of key roads. They resulted in more than 260 traffic interruptions on 32 highways in Tibet.
Local rescue teams raced against time to repair the damaged roads. For instance, close to a destroyed section of Highway 318 that links Lhasa and Nyingchi, teams spent a week building a nearly 220-yard-long and 4-yard-wide makeshift road to resume travel while working to repair the damaged section.
Tibet’s authorities have shifted their focus on the transport network from construction to comprehensive development that covers management, operation and maintenance, from quantity to quality, local media reported.
“It takes just four hours to drive to Lhasa,” said Tharlung, a resident in Drache village on the outskirts of Nyingchi. The 76-year-old villager recalled that the travel time was 16 days during his first visit to Lhasa when he was 11.
“Our generation didn’t dare to dream such a high speed in road service,” he said.
A highway runs through the village, so villagers started to run travel businesses in the 1980s, earning Drache the reputation of a “village on wheels”.
The Nyingchi-Lhasa highway, spanning 254 miles, was put into service in April 2019, delivering a further increase to local villagers’ income.
“The high-level highway helps to accelerate the construction of a logistics park and a wholesale market in Nyingchi,” said another villager, Kelsang Wangchug. “The convenient transportation facilitates the flows of visitors to a scenic site at our village, which features 1,000-yearold cypress trees.”
Wit h roa d s i mproved i n recent years, villagers have found more ways to increase their income, he added.
Major roads in Tibet created 29,000 jobs and helped rural residents in the autonomous region earn a combined 545 million yuan ($79.76 million) in 2019, local media reported.
Also, the expanded road network aids the flows of goods and visitors to Tibet.
In the first half of this year, 12.77 million metric tons of goods were shipped throughout Tibet.
The autonomous region received more than 8.33 million visits from home and abroad during the same period, generating 7.54 billion yuan in tourism revenue.