China's Picturesque Tibet Autonomous Region: News & Images

[Edison Chen]

lol 我是新人

Hi, are you from guangxi province?

 

[Echo_419]

finally will link with Indian railway net

Indeed by 2020 our finacial situation specially our Railways will be in far better shape & we can link our Rail networks through Nepal then

 

[powastick]

@TaiShang Under Mt. Everest for real?

China may build rail tunnel under Mount Everest, state media reports | World news | The Guardian

China may build rail tunnel under Mount Everest, state media reports
Chinese expert says tunnel under consideration in bid to link China with Nepal by rail

Mount Everest at sunrise. According to state media China is in talks with Nepal to build a rail tunnel under the mountain. Photograph: Kristy Durbridge / Alamy/Alamy
A railway between China and Nepal that could include a tunnel under Mount Everest is under consideration, Chinese state media said Thursday, as Beijing builds links with a country India regards as firmly within its sphere of influence.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway already links the rest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond, and an extension running as far as the international border is already being planned “at Nepal’s request”, the China Daily newspaper reported, quoting an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

This is expected to be completed by 2020, it cited a Tibetan official as saying.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Kathmandu in December and, according to Nepalese reports, said the line could eventually be extended to the Nepalese capital and further, potentially providing a crucial link between China and the huge markets of India.

Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.

“The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels,” expert Wang Mengshu told the newspaper, referring to Everest by its Tibetan name.

He said that, due to the challenging Himalayan terrain with its “remarkable” changes in elevation, trains on any line to Kathmandu would probably have a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

The proposal underscores China’s influence in the impoverished Himalayan nation, where Beijing has for years been building roads and investing billions of dollars in hydropower and telecommunications.

Chinese tourism to Nepal, which is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, is also climbing.

Beijing’s increasing role has raised alarms in New Delhi that China, already closely allied to Pakistan, is forging closer economic ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal in a deliberate strategy to encircle India.

In an apparent counter-move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged late last year that South Asia’s largest economy would fund a series of regional investments and free up its markets to its neighbours’ exporters.

But India has struggled to compete with China’s financial muscle.

Chinese plans to expand the rail network in Tibet have also come under criticism from rights groups including the International Campaign for Tibet, which has warned of the project’s “dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world’s highest and largest plateau”.

“The Chinese government’s claim that rail expansion on the plateau simply benefits tourism and lifts Tibetans out of poverty does not hold up to scrutiny and cannot be taken at face value,” ICT president Matteo Mecacci said in a statement last year.

 

[TaiShang]

@TaiShang Under Mt. Everest for real?

China may build rail tunnel under Mount Everest, state media reports | World news | The Guardian

China may build rail tunnel under Mount Everest, state media reports
Chinese expert says tunnel under consideration in bid to link China with Nepal by rail

Mount Everest at sunrise. According to state media China is in talks with Nepal to build a rail tunnel under the mountain. Photograph: Kristy Durbridge / Alamy/Alamy
A railway between China and Nepal that could include a tunnel under Mount Everest is under consideration, Chinese state media said Thursday, as Beijing builds links with a country India regards as firmly within its sphere of influence.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway already links the rest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond, and an extension running as far as the international border is already being planned “at Nepal’s request”, the China Daily newspaper reported, quoting an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

This is expected to be completed by 2020, it cited a Tibetan official as saying.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Kathmandu in December and, according to Nepalese reports, said the line could eventually be extended to the Nepalese capital and further, potentially providing a crucial link between China and the huge markets of India.

Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.

“The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels,” expert Wang Mengshu told the newspaper, referring to Everest by its Tibetan name.

He said that, due to the challenging Himalayan terrain with its “remarkable” changes in elevation, trains on any line to Kathmandu would probably have a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

The proposal underscores China’s influence in the impoverished Himalayan nation, where Beijing has for years been building roads and investing billions of dollars in hydropower and telecommunications.

Chinese tourism to Nepal, which is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, is also climbing.

Beijing’s increasing role has raised alarms in New Delhi that China, already closely allied to Pakistan, is forging closer economic ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal in a deliberate strategy to encircle India.

In an apparent counter-move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged late last year that South Asia’s largest economy would fund a series of regional investments and free up its markets to its neighbours’ exporters.

But India has struggled to compete with China’s financial muscle.

Chinese plans to expand the rail network in Tibet have also come under criticism from rights groups including the International Campaign for Tibet, which has warned of the project’s “dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world’s highest and largest plateau”.

“The Chinese government’s claim that rail expansion on the plateau simply benefits tourism and lifts Tibetans out of poverty does not hold up to scrutiny and cannot be taken at face value,” ICT president Matteo Mecacci said in a statement last year.

I am not aware of the particular tunnel. t this point, it might as well be a speculation. The plan for a railway to link China with Nepal has been underway, but I am not aware of the technical details.

In an apparent counter-move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged late last year that South Asia’s largest economy would fund a series of regional investments and free up its markets to its neighbours’ exporters.

But India has struggled to compete with China’s financial muscle.

I am more intrigued by the (geo)political implications of the move. Apparently, whatever China does on its western fronts is met with suspicion by India which seems both economically and technologically unable to meet the 'challenge' it perceives.

 

[powastick]

 

[TaiShang]

China Plans Strategic High-Speed Rail to Nepal Through Mount Everest / Sputnik International

China Plans Strategic High-Speed Rail to Nepal Through Mount Everest

China has unveiled new plans to extend a high speed railway line to connect to Nepal via Tibet that would tunnel under Mount Everest - and creep into India's sphere of influence.

The current Qinghai-Tibet line runs from Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, the administrative capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). An extension has been discussed since 2008 — with a 253 kilometer stretch to Tibet's second city Xigaze completed in 2014 — but no previous plans had included a tunnel.

"A proposed extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to the China-Nepal border through Tibet would boost bilateral trade and tourism as there is currently no rail line linking the two countries," the state-run newspaper China Daily reported on Thursday.

The 540-km link to Nepal would provide quick access to the Indian markets, and perhaps is an attempt to involve Nepal in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar project in which India's interest has recently waned, reported the Times of India.

The line could potentially end in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, where Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi travelled in December, and would be completed by 2020.

"The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels," expert Wang Mengshu told China Daily, referring to Everest by its Tibetan name. He added that the "remarkable" terrain of the Himalayas would keep any trains traversing them to a speed of 120 km per hour.

China — already a close ally with Pakistan — has invested heavily in Nepal in recent years, and the rail line would be another move towards building a circle of influence around regional rival, India. In what may be a reaction to this trend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently promised to increase spending on infrastructure projects in the region.

Tourism from within China has already increased due to the existing rail lines into Tibet. In 2013, 7.5 million people road the railway to Lhasa, more than twice the population of the TAR.


But China is not just interested in Nepalese and Indian trade or in expanding tourism. Mining is the really profitable goal in the region. Beijing has estimated Tibet's mineral worth to be around $100 billion.

International Campaign for Tibet has raised concerns over the proposed rail line's "dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world’s highest and largest plateau."

"The Chinese government’s claim that rail expansion on the plateau simply benefits tourism and lifts Tibetans out of poverty does not hold up to scrutiny and cannot be taken at face value," the campaign's President Matteo Mecacci said in a statement in 2014.

The railway lines across the dramatic landscape of the region are impressive feats of engineering. The Qinghai-Lhasa line boasts the world's highest rail line, highest railway station and highest railway tunnel. The extension to Xigaze required the construction of 96 tunnels.


Read more: China Plans Strategic High-Speed Rail to Nepal Through Mount Everest / Sputnik International

 

[Jlaw]

Look at all the Indians dissing Chinese about the railroad through Mt Qomolangma.

China's plans to build rail link with Nepal through Mt Everest could concern India

Quotes from: Griffin "another "Ghost Project"... "

East or West India Best "chinese talk too much."

Ito-"How someone can build rail link through Mt. Everest? Too much boasting of Chinese capabilities."

 

[TaiShang]

Look at all the Indians dissing Chinese about the railroad through Mt Qomolangma.

China's plans to build rail link with Nepal through Mt Everest could concern India

Quotes from: Griffin "another "Ghost Project"... "

East or West India Best "chinese talk too much."

Ito-"How someone can build rail link through Mt. Everest? Too much boasting of Chinese capabilities."

Let's keep them busy with guessing and belittling. LOL.

 

[TaiShang]

They confuse our capabilities with their own. A fatal mistake

To be fair, imagine you grew up in a place with a 75% literacy rate, and where people openly defecated next to railways built a century ago by light-skinned conquerors, which the country still depends on, and otherwise no infrastructure worked. Then someone told you your neighbors were building new trains through mountains. You would probably be skeptical too.

That's the kindest and most symphatetic rebuttal I have ever read.

We should indeed understand their innate skepticism.

 

[guangxi]

Hi, are you from guangxi province?

说人话

 

[ashok mourya]

Good news for tourist and Tibetans ,now Delhi to Lhasa via Kathmandu rail link will be a possibility.India simply have to connect to Kathmandu via rail.

 

[TaiShang]

Tibet's development; a path of hope
April 16, 2015

BEIJING, April 15 -- Over six decades since the Communist Party of China (CPC) brought the plateau onto a path of hope, Tibet is in better shape than ever before.

Tibet has a 12-percent growth target for this year, backed by hefty government investment, in sharp contrast to the expectations of much of China's interior, with annualized growth for the whole country stuck at 7 percent in the first quarter.

Tibet is yet to present its own economic report card for the same period, but development in recent years shows that efforts to narrow the gap between the plateau and the rest of the country are paying off.

In the 60 years from 1952 to 2013, the central government provided financial assistance ofup to 544.6 billion yuan (87.5 billion U.S. dollars) -- 95 percent of the total expenditure oflocal public finance in the period.

Tibet's gross regional product hit 92.5 billion yuan last year and the region has maintained double-digit growth since 1994. It is the Tibetan people who have benefited most overthese decades.

In the 1950s, when slavery had long been cast aside in most parts of the globe, Tibet was still a society of feudal serfdom, which trampled on dignity, violated human rights and prevented social development.

On March 28, 1959, China's central government announced the dissolution of the archaic, aristocratic local government of Tibet, replacing it with a preparatory committee for establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region and about 1 million serfs and slaves were freed.

Native Tibetans today, most of whom are descendants of former slaves, make up the majority of government employees, working as officials, teachers, doctors or other professionals. Almost all these jobs were beyond the wildest imagination of their forefathers.

A sign of improved medical care and social welfare, Tibet's population rose to 3.12 million in 2013, tripling the early 1950s figure. Average life expectancy has doubled to 68.2 years.

Tibet has also taken the lead in China with 15 years of free education, from kindergarten through senior high school. In most parts of the country, children receive only nine years of free education.

Today, 99.6 percent of Tibet's children go to primary school, compared with less than a 2-percent in the 1950s when 95 percent of the population were illiterate.

A modern transport network has linked the remote plateau region with the rest of the world. Tibetans' freedom of faith is widely respected and protected by law. The coexistence of atheism, Tibetan Buddhism, Bon, Islam, and Christianity has made Tibet an exemplar of cultural and religious diversity.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region.The Tibetans today are no more a group of slaves groaning under the whips of their owners, not knowing where their next meal would come from. They are educated and free to choose their own fate.

 

[TaiShang]

Houses make a difference in China's Tibet
Beijing Review 2015-06-01

Residents in Enda Village of Riwoqe County, Tibet, dance in the village square (YANG JIAO)

With financial support from the government, more people in Tibet are moving into new residences.

To Ahsang, who lives in a two-story house with his family in Enda Village of Riwoqe County, Tibet Autonomous Region, life in a small, wooden hillside cottage before 2004 is already a distant memory.

Actually, Ahsang had lived there for 60 years. The tiny domicile, while quaint, was hardly what most people would consider a home. The family's livestock lived in an adjacent room, although the division between man and beast's living quarters was without solid walls or fences. Without running water or electricity, Ahsang's family would have to walk downhill half an hour to fetch buckets of water and then haul them back up to the cottage. Television and other home appliances were reserved for the family's dreams.

Some 110 households in the village used to live similar lives. Scattered about the hillsides, without proper roads, electricity, televisions, radios and telephones, they had little connection with the outside world. Poor infrastructure restricted economic development. In 2004, the per-capita annual net income of Enda villagers was only 2,300 yuan ($356), according to figures from the county government.

Out with the old

In 2004, the county government began providing subsidies to farmers and herdsmen who built new houses. The government offered each household 60,000 yuan ($9,273.57) for building projects and villagers were allowed to select sites for their new houses closer to one of the country's major highways.

The government stepped up building of roads, installed street lamps and built public squares in newly built villages. It also launched programs to make electricity, telecommunications services and safe drinking water accessible to all relocated villagers. Due to the efforts, a new primary school was built in Enda.

Having lived their hillside lives for generations, this flash flood of change was more than most villagers could accept.

"It was a little difficult to convince them about the programs," Wu Xianli, Secretary of the Committee of the Communist Party of China of Sangdo Town, told Beijing Review. "Some villagers worry they wouldn't be able to afford the new houses, even with government subsidies."

Wu said some people were reluctant to move because they were nostalgic to old homes where their ancestors lived and they themselves grew up.

At first, the flow of households willing to build and move into new houses was only a trickle, but the prospects of a convenient new life in a better house quickly encouraged other villagers to follow suit.

Pema Lhangjia is among those willing to build a new house. Life on the hillside was difficult, with his children forced to trek down the side of the mountain every day to go to school. Buying daily necessities was an arduous task that forced the family to travel to the nearest town 20 km from their home. When the government launched the relocation program, Pema Lhangjia wouldn't budge from the home of his forefathers. With financial assistance from the government and the possibility of providing a much better standard of living for his family, he eventually gave in.

The benefits of living in the new house are evident. Pema Lhangjia's children now only spend five minutes walking to school in the morning. The streets of the new village where he lives are lined with stores. With electricity, tap water and natural gas at their disposal, the family's everyday life has been markedly improved, allowing Pema Lhangjia and his wife to focus on increasing their income.

"Now our life is very good," Pema Lhangjia told Beijing Review.

Today, all 118 households in Enda have moved into new houses, each with an average floor space of 300 square meters, according to the government of Riwoqe.

A new house built with government subsidies in a village in Qamdo City, Tibet (WANG JUN)

Changing lives

A large portion of Tibet's population used to reside in mountainous regions and valleys, disconnected from the outside world due to a lack of roads and inaccessible to electricity and safe drinking water. Most people didn't have telephones, televisions or even radios. It was therefore difficult to provide education, social security benefits and medical services for these scattered people.

"In some areas, you can ride a bus for four or five hours without seeing a single house," said Dawa Samdup, director of the office responsible for rural housing programs of Tibet. "A child from a nomadic family who goes to Lhasa to attend school may be unable to find his or her way home when returning during school breaks."

Usually made of wood and clay, with flimsy foundations but without earthquake-protective facilities, houses in rural areas can be amazingly hazardous, Dawa Samdup said.

"After scattered farmers and herdsmen are relocated, the costs for infrastructure construction, such as water, power, water, gas and cable TV systems, have been reduced," said Dawa Samdup.

In 2006, the Tibet Regional Government carried out a new program, including reconstructing existing houses, settling of nomadic people and relocating people from poverty-stricken areas. So far, it has benefited 1.4 million people.

Moving into houses not only provides a healthier living environment for rural Tibetans, it also provides peace of mind.

Dawa Samdup said farmers now spend more time working outside the confines of their homes. Some run their own guesthouses in tourist areas; others are engaged in the transportation industry.

In Enda, the per-capita annual net income of villagers more than doubled the 2004 level to 5,200 yuan ($805) in 2010.

With better infrastructure, farmers and herdsmen have more channels to learn about life outside Tibet.

"For example, through radios, televisions and telecommunications services, farmers can learn more about farming techniques and expand the market for their products. They are learning new ways to sell their vegetables now," Dawa Samdup said.

Educational facilities have also improved. For example, the primary school, which used to have three grades, now have six grades providing a proper primary school education, Vice Headmaster Pema Sahjen, told Beijing Review.

"The improvement of housing conditions has played a very important role in raising living standards and boosting infrastructure construction in rural Tibet, increasing income of farmers and herdsmen and promoting stability of the agricultural and pastoral areas," Dawa Samdup said.

Greater ambitions

Between 2006 and 2010, 17 billion yuan ($2.63 billion) was invested in a variety of housing programs in Tibet. Since Tibet is located in a quake-prone area of the world, the regional government invested another 2 billion yuan ($309.76 million) in reinforcing existing houses.

In 2010, Tibet launched a pilot program to build village libraries, cultural and sports facilities, village-based broadcasting networks and movie theaters. It also began building convenient stores in rural areas and improving village clinics, public lighting systems, road networks, rural garbage and sewage disposal facilities and landscape projects. Investment in the pilot program totaled 527 million yuan ($81.62 million) in 2010, of which 346 million yuan ($53.59 million) was offered by the regional government.

In the five years beginning 2011, the pilot program will be extended to 4,953 villages with a budget of 5.1 billion yuan ($789.90 million), said Dawa Samdup.

 

[TaiShang]

Recently, 69 Menba families moved into the new houses of Menba well-off model village in Tsona County of Tibet’s Shannan Prefecture. Those new houses are believed to greatly improve local people’s living standard. Photo shows Menba women walking in front of their houses. [China Tibet News/ Gersang JigmeGonsang Dechen]

A new house built with government subsidies in a village in Qamdo City, Tibet (WANG JUN)

Changing lives

A large portion of Tibet's population used to reside in mountainous regions and valleys, disconnected from the outside world due to a lack of roads and inaccessible to electricity and safe drinking water. Most people didn't have telephones, televisions or even radios. It was therefore difficult to provide education, social security benefits and medical services for these scattered people.

"In some areas, you can ride a bus for four or five hours without seeing a single house," said Dawa Samdup, director of the office responsible for rural housing programs of Tibet. "A child from a nomadic family who goes to Lhasa to attend school may be unable to find his or her way home when returning during school breaks."

Usually made of wood and clay, with flimsy foundations but without earthquake-protective facilities, houses in rural areas can be amazingly hazardous, Dawa Samdup said.

"After scattered farmers and herdsmen are relocated, the costs for infrastructure construction, such as water, power, water, gas and cable TV systems, have been reduced," said Dawa Samdup.

In 2006, the Tibet Regional Government carried out a new program, including reconstructing existing houses, settling of nomadic people and relocating people from poverty-stricken areas. So far, it has benefited 1.4 million people.

Moving into houses not only provides a healthier living environment for rural Tibetans, it also provides peace of mind.

Dawa Samdup said farmers now spend more time working outside the confines of their homes. Some run their own guesthouses in tourist areas; others are engaged in the transportation industry.

In Enda, the per-capita annual net income of villagers more than doubled the 2004 level to 5,200 yuan ($805) in 2010.

With better infrastructure, farmers and herdsmen have more channels to learn about life outside Tibet.

"For example, through radios, televisions and telecommunications services, farmers can learn more about farming techniques and expand the market for their products. They are learning new ways to sell their vegetables now," Dawa Samdup said.

Educational facilities have also improved. For example, the primary school, which used to have three grades, now have six grades providing a proper primary school education, Vice Headmaster Pema Sahjen, told Beijing Review.

"The improvement of housing conditions has played a very important role in raising living standards and boosting infrastructure construction in rural Tibet, increasing income of farmers and herdsmen and promoting stability of the agricultural and pastoral areas," Dawa Samdup said.

Greater ambitions

Between 2006 and 2010, 17 billion yuan ($2.63 billion) was invested in a variety of housing programs in Tibet. Since Tibet is located in a quake-prone area of the world, the regional government invested another 2 billion yuan ($309.76 million) in reinforcing existing houses.

In 2010, Tibet launched a pilot program to build village libraries, cultural and sports facilities, village-based broadcasting networks and movie theaters. It also began building convenient stores in rural areas and improving village clinics, public lighting systems, road networks, rural garbage and sewage disposal facilities and landscape projects. Investment in the pilot program totaled 527 million yuan ($81.62 million) in 2010, of which 346 million yuan ($53.59 million) was offered by the regional government.

In the five years beginning 2011, the pilot program will be extended to 4,953 villages with a budget of 5.1 billion yuan ($789.90 million), said Dawa Samdup.

 

[TaiShang]

Tibet opens first 24-hour self-service library
2015-06-04

The first 24-hour self-service library has recently been opened in the Nyingchi city, Tibet Autonomous Region. The library will make it more convenient for the citizens of Nyingchi to borrow books.

The Nyingchi City Library informed that with only an ID card a user can log on and follow the onscreen prompts to select the desired book, and in just a few seconds the self-service library will issue the book to the reader.

The self-service library had a total investment of 670,000 yuan and currently holds a collection of 500 books, which can be adjusted according to the needs and demands of readers.

Members of the public simply need to pay a small deposit and show their valid documents to obtain a library ID card, at which point they can use the self-service library free of charge to borrow books and conduct other business.

It is understood that the self-service library will be updated regularly according to readers'tastes and needs, as noted by a reader's comments book. According to the different needs of the readers, the self-service library can also provide a "customised service". The self-service library in Nyingchi plans to lend books 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in any weather in the future.