Western China - news and development

[WAJsal]

Xinjiang is probably a province in China which needs the most attention, probably the most underdeveloped. One of the key reasons could be the remotely populated people or areas. My father has been to Kashghar, he is a real fan of the historic city and the people. And it's capital which is Urumqi is supposed to be a model of development the region will see through CPEC.
With this investment, the Xinjiang region will see a lot of changes.
Some of the changes have been mentioned here:
https://defence.pk/threads/cpec-and-its-benefits-to-gb.447817/#post-8655369
Same changes are expected to be seen in Xinjiang. Am hoping to see the region really developed in coming years.
regards

 

[Mitro]

This kids don't look malnourished compare to Indian kids they look like sumo lol.
Very generous Chinese government they are taking care of poor subject hope one day Indian government can do the same .
India should stop buying those expensive weapons and start spending on kids and poor people.

 

[AndrewJin]

Bullet train attendant team
Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway
Urumqi Railway Bureau

@Two @grey boy 2 @Lure @Kaptaan @AViet

 

[AndrewJin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=1Gaiu7_ds1E

New Urumqi Railway Station opens

 

[TaiShang]

Mountaineering center to boost Tibet's economy
China Daily, October 31, 2016

The photo of Qomolangma is taken in Tibet Province on Oct 29, 2016. The 8,844.43-meter-high Qomolangma, located on the border of China and Nepal, is the world's tallest peak. [Photo/Xinhua]


Climbers hoping to scale some of the world's highest peaks have welcomed plans for a massive international mountaineering center in southwestern China.

The project will be built in Gangkar township, near the northern slope of Qomolangma, or Mount Everest, in the Tibet Province and is aimed at growing the mountaineering industry and local economy.

According to the regional sports bureau, the center will cater to mountaineers, skiers, paragliders and tour guides, and will feature medical services, travel agencies and a helicopter rescue base.

"There will also be a mountaineering museum; rental and repair centers for cars, motorbikes and bicycles; and restaurants and accommodation," said Nyima Tsering, the bureau's deputy director.

The center will cost more than 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) and cover an area of about 84,320 square meters. Construction is scheduled to start next year and should be completed in 2019.

"I'm very excited," said Zhang Hong, who plans to become the first blind Chinese alpinist to reach the summit of Qomolangma, the world's tallest mountain. "The center could be helpful for me to fulfill my dreams."

The 41-year-old has already conquered two peaks of over 5,800 meters in the past two years and next year will attempt Cho Oyu, also in Tibet, which stands at 7,028 meters.

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and glaciers, the Tibetan plateau is one of the world's finest destinations for climbers seeking challenging peaks and rare vistas, with five mountains over 8,000 meters, more than 70 over 7,000 meters and at least 1,000 over 6,000 meters.

Gangkar is one of the five frontier townships in Dingri county and borders Nepal in the south.

"The township is the best place to see the peaks of Qomolangma, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Lhotse and Makalu," said Nyima Tsering.

He said the new center will also cooperate with the Nepalese authorities, which govern the southern slope of Qomolangma, to facilitate helicopter rescue services.

Lodre, 53, a mountaineering coach with the Tibet Mountaineering Guide School, said the center will boost high-mountain medical assistance capabilities. "Tibet only has ground rescue services, but air rescue is essential for climbing in the Qomolangma area," he said.

Tsering Ngodrup, a 29-year-old alpinist, said as the region has developed, more climbers have arrived.

"Building a mountaineering center is a smart move. Many climbers are not confident in planning expeditions in the mountains (in Tibet) because there is a lack of basic services," he said, adding that guaranteeing such services would be a major lift for the region's mountaineering and outdoor sports industry.

Ngakwang Dradul, who has 17 years of climbing experience, said the center will also help to boost the economy by helping local farmers and nomads to find jobs and generating tourism incomes.

 

[TaiShang]

Xinjiang Province allocates over 600 million RMB for poverty relief in border areas
(People's Daily Online) November 07, 2016

Thanks to increasing support in border areas, living conditions in Xinjiang border villages have gradually improved, with more and more residents shaking off poverty.

According to the Xinjiang Province Poverty Alleviation Office, the region has allocated over 600 million RMB to boost the quality of life of border residents. Xinjiang has also increased its efforts in ecological and environmental protection. For example, in recent years, 20,000 biogas digesters have been built for poor families; 30,000 households have had their toilets upgraded, and 24,000 have seen their kitchens renovated. A total of 87,000 mu of artificial grassland has been installed, greatly enhancing the region’s ecological capacity.

In China, Xinjiang is the province with the longest land border and largest number of neighboring countries. Seventeen of the region's 34 border counties are impoverished. By the end of 2015, there were still 726 impoverished villages in Xinjiang, 289 of which are located along the border.

Living in a fragile ecological environment and an extremely impoverished state, residents in alpine border areas face the hurdles of poor education, insufficient medical care and sub-par transportation and housing. Thus, there is a clear and urgent need to further improve living standards along the border.

In March 2007, Aheqi County was selected to pilot a poverty alleviation program, marking the beginning of border poverty alleviation work in Xinjiang. In September 2010, China further expanded the pilot program by 17 counties. From 2014 to 2015, 186 villages in 34 border counties, encompassing 65,000 households and 265,000 people, rose out of poverty.

 

[JSCh]

The heat is on for Tibet's remote prefecture
Source: Xinhua 2016-11-11 19:21:27

LHASA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Central heating was switched on for the first time in history in Tibet's Ngari prefecture Thursday.

The sparsely-populated plateau region is known for having among the roughest winter weather on earth. At 4,500 meters above sea level, Ngari typically has more than 200 days a year with temperatures below zero. The lowest temperature on record was minus 36.7 degrees Celsius.

Water heating pipes are now installed in homes and offices in Shiquanhe town where most of the population resides. Central heating is expected to warm up an area of 1.5 million square meters, according to local officials.

The facilities, with a maximum 12 megawatts capacity, cost 1.77 billion yuan (262 million U.S. dollars) to build, the officials said.

Traditionally, residents at this remote corner of the world burn yak dung, dried wood, or coal in defense of the freezing weather. In recent years, the smoking chimneys from hundreds of coal-fired boilers in Shiquanhe have raised environmental concerns.

The central heating service will replace at least 150 small boilers and save 32,000 tons of coal annually. The emission of 103 tons of dust, nine tons of carbon dioxide, and 2,000 tons of coal residue will be avoided each year, said Yuan Fuguo, a senior prefecture official.

Many local people are simply happy to stay warm indoors with the central heating on.

"In class, we won't shiver in our big quilts any more," said Yexe Zhoima, a primary school student. "The winter becomes warm with the heating."

A nurse said that medics in local hospitals are now able to tend to patients without wearing clumsy overcoats. "It is also a blessing to patients who had to bring portable heaters with them in the past," she said.

 

[TaiShang]

Xinjiang province launches daily cargo train service to Central Asia
Xinhua, December 1, 2016

A freight train loaded with commodities, jars of ketchup and Christmas trees left the West Railway Station in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Province, on Wednesday morning, heading for Alma-Ata, the largest city in Kazakhstan.

This marks the 100th train journey since the freight service started in late May, said Niu Quan, spokesman for the Urumqi Railway Bureau.

Urumqi has been designated as a hub on China-Europe train routes by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The freight service from Urumqi to Alma-Ata operated for once a week since opening in May, but since November the train travels from Urumqi daily, Niu said.

International freight trains from Xinjiang mainly bound for Central Asian countries and some European countries developed rapidly in 2016. Since Xinjiang opened its first westward international train in 2014, a total of 328 such trains have been launched.

 

[TaiShang]

NW China province renovates 15,000 unsafe homes in temples
(Xinhua) December 08, 2016

XINING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Qinghai will complete renovation of 15,000 residences in temples across the province by the end of 2017, the provincial ethnic and religious affairs committee said Thursday.

So far, 10,000 have been renovated since a campaign to improve basic temple facilities in Qinghai began in 2015.

Drakpa, an official with the committee, said subsidies are available for renovation, typically 12,500 yuan (1,800 U.S. dollars) for each home.

 

[JSCh]

Tibetan herb researcher's efforts blossom
Source: Xinhua | 2016-12-09 18:02:11 | Editor: huaxia

Tashi Tsering has done something many considered impossible: He has successfully cultivated blue poppy, a rare and endangered herb that grows above the snow line of the Himalayas, in lab with his team. The herb is believed to be effective for treating liver diseases in traditional Tibetan medicine.

Tashi, deputy director of Tibetan Medicine Research Center of the Tibetan Medicine Hospital in Lhasa, began this research in 2009, a mission thought impossible by many, including foreign researchers, as the herb can only survive in the alpine region--currently at an altitude above 5,000 meters as a result of shrinking snow line due to global warming in recent years.

The 41-year-old researcher has worked on Tibetan medicine for nearly two decades since he graduated from a prestigious medical university in Liaoning Province, northeast China.

Tashi and his team have been to many places in Tibet and its neighboring provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. "However, our first trial yielded nothing," says Tashi. Despite their hard efforts of an entire year in 2011, the team's experimental field failed to see one single seedling of blue poppy. But they never gave up.

Thanks to almost seven years of efforts, the team finally succeeded in 2005. According to Tashi, the germination rate this year has reached 87%. "But there is still a long way to go for commercial plantation," said Tashi.

In recent years, both the central and regional governments have enhanced their support for the artificial planting of endangered herbs for Tibetan medicine use. A new research center has been set up with the governmental funding in Tashi's test base. Over the past 10 years, Tashi and his team have successfully grown 27 endangered herbs for traditional medicine.

Tashi said that the demand for Tibetan medicine is expected to increase with improving technology. "Artificial planting will make a difference."

 

[JSCh]

China Focus: New cargo service links Tibet, Nepal to boost trade
Source: Xinhua 2016-12-10 01:59:08

LHASA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of trucks carrying 19 million yuan (2.8 million U.S. dollars) worth of goods left the border port of Gyirong in Tibet after customs clearance on Friday, continuing the journey to their destination in Nepal.

The new rail and road cargo service, linking Guangdong, Tibet and Nepal, aims to boost trade with the South Asian neighbor as China pushes forward its Belt and Road Initiative.

A train carrying eight carriages and 14 boxcars full of products, including shoes, clothes, hats, furniture, appliances, electronics and building materials, covered the 5,200-km distance between Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, and Xigaze in Tibet.

The trucks are responsible for the remaining 870 km of the journey, carrying goods to Gyirong and then to the final stop in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital.

"The trip between Guangzhou and Gyirong takes about five to six days, much shorter than the 20 days for sea transport," said Yao Yanfeng, general manager of the freight carrier Tibet Tianzhi Import and Export Co. Ltd. "The time could be cut further to 3.7 days in the future."

Yao said his company is providing relatively quick delivery service and, despite higher costs, it can meet demand for time-sensitive clients.

"In the slower winter season, the train and trucks will make a round trip every one or two weeks," said Yao. "In the busy season next year, there will be two to three per week and, eventually, we're aiming for four to five trips per week."

"Nepal needs Chinese goods," said Liu Denghui of Adam Refrigeration Equipment Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen upon hearing about the new trade route.

NEW TRADE PASSAGE

In May, China opened a rail and road cargo service between Lanzhou in northwest China and Kathmandu. The new service starting from Guangzhou serves as an important trade passage between the two neighboring countries.

Guangdong and neighboring regions, known as China's manufacturing hubs, are a major source of imports for South Asia, including Nepal.

The trade passage, in line with market demand in the medium and long term, could help boost economic cooperation between Guangdong, Tibet and South Asia, officials said.

Luomei, assistant chairwoman of Tibet autonomous regional government, said with efficient trade transportation, the freight service could help relocate more businesses along the passage, bringing growth momentum and industrial transformation to the plateau region.

Gobinda Bahadur Karki, consul general of Nepal in Lhasa, said the freight service will help boost Nepal's economic growth as well as bilateral trade.

MORE INFRASTRUCTURE

To further facilitate trade, China is planning to build a railway between Xigaze and Gyirong to shorten the trip.

Yang Guoliang, an official with the Tibet Autonomous Regional Department of Commerce, said Tibet will build and reopen more border ports to expand the trade passage to South Asia.

The trade passage is a national strategy linking China's economic heartland with South Asia, said Yang.

Apart from ports and trade passages, China will build border economic zones with South Asia, said Wang Yanqing of the transport research institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency.

 

[JSCh]

89.6% of houses for villagers reconstructed in quake-hit Tibet
2016-12-10 10:19 Xinhua

Over 16,000 people were affected by the quake which hit the county on April 25, 2015. More than 3,000 residential buildings were badly damaged. The local government has reconstructed 89.6% of houses for villagers so far. The rest will be finished by the end of the year. (Xinhua/Liu Dongjun).

Villagers pose for photo in front of their new house in Gyirong County of Xigaze City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Dec. 7, 2016.

Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2016 shows a snow mountain in Gyirong County of Xigaze City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Women make traditional food after they moved to new house in Gyirong County of Xigaze City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Dec. 8, 2016.

Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2016 shows an aerial view of Zhacun Village under Gyirong County of Xigaze City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.​

 

[TaiShang]

NW China to build 5.3-bln-yuan aviation project
Xinhua, December 13, 2016

An aviation project worth about 5.3 billion yuan (768 million U.S. dollars) will be built in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a local company confirmed Tuesday.

The project invested by Shaanxi Aviation Industry Development Group Co., Ltd. (SAIDC) will be located in the Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base.

Under the agreement signed by SAIDC and the base on Friday, the project will involve the construction of an assembly line of Bell 407GXP helicopters, centers for helicopter training, emergency response and rescue, as well as the research and development related to drones.

Wang Yongan, chairman of SAIDC, told Xinhua that SAIDC would work with the U.S. aircraft producer Bell Helicopter in developing the assembly line.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese county makes strides in battle against plateau parasite
Source: Xinhua 2016-12-14 21:08:18

CHENGDU, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A campaign to control a fatal parasitic disease in a Tibetan-inhabited county in southwest China's Sichuan Province has seen remarkable progress, with over 90 percent of local residents screened, according to local health authorities.

Echinococcosis, a type of tapeworm infection, mainly affects herding areas in Sichuan, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang. In 2012, about 50 million people were under threat from the disease. The government aims to control the disease by 2020.

Humans can be infected with the disease through contact with infected animals and contaminated food, water and sand.

Shiqu County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze is among the hardest-hit regions. It has waged a war against the disease since November 2015 by regulating pet dogs, providing clean drinking water and raising awareness among residents.

Screening has covered 82,300 people, over 92 percent of the county's population, and more than 6,000 have been found to be infected. Free medication has been offered to patients.

Health authorities have employed 169 workers to send drugs to the homes of dog owners and properly dispose of dog feces every month to prevent an outbreak among Tibetan mastiffs, the favorite pet among locals.

Villager Dalo, whose wife underwent two surgeries due to the parasite, said he backs the government's efforts to control the disease. He feeds his mastiff the drug mixed in with its food.

"If our dog doesn't get the disease, we'll be safe," he said.

In addition, the local government dug 142 deep wells to provide safe drinking water to 11,400 villagers and has worked to eliminate rats on 243,500 mu (16,233 hectares) of grassland.

A survey conducted by Garze investigators from the National Bureau of Statistics showed awareness of echinococcosis among Shiqu residents has increased from 53 percent at the end of 2015 to 75 percent currently.

 

[JSCh]

More Tibetan children get preschool education
Source: Xinhua 2016-12-15 23:38:56

LHASA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Over 66 percent of children in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have received preschool education, more than double that six years ago, according to the latest figures from the local education department.

The gross kindergarten enrollment ratio, which refers to the ratio of the number of preschool students regardless of their age, has risen to 66.24 percent in 2016 from only 24.5 percent in 2010.

A total of 96,777 children are studying at 1,028 kindergartens in Tibet.

All children in Tibet's agricultural and pastoral areas and low-income urban families are entitled to free tuition and accommodation fees and a 3,240 yuan (467 U.S. dollars) pre-school education subsidy each year, according to Xu Chengcang, head of the regional education department.

The educational authorities are also promoting preschool classes in both Mandarin and Tibetan for Tibetan children.