First train leaves Tibet

A whistling train rolled out of the station of Lhasa, regional capital of Tibet at 11:12 on Saturday, enabling Tibet for the first time to have access to rail transport.

The train, coded "Tibet 2", carries about 700 passengers with 16 carriages. It travels more than 2,100 kilometers across "the roof of the world" and is expected to arrive at the terminal of Lanzhou, provincial capital of Gansu, in some 30 hours.

Xie Yuke from Qinghai provincial railway administration, 35, was assigned as the driver for the train's maiden trip. Among the passengers are Tibetan herdsmen, farmers, retired governmental officials, builders of the railway and journalists.

President Hu Jintao attended a launching ceremony held at Golmud, another start-off point of the landmark railroad in northwestern Qinghai Province, and cut red ribbon for the opening of the railway.

"The building of the Qinghai-Tibet railway is of major significance for accelerating the economic and social development of Tibet and Qinghai, improving the lives of people of every ethnicity, and strengthening unity between ethnic groups," said Hu to more than 2,600 audiences at the ceremony.

"This is a magnificent feat by the Chinese people, and also a miracle in world railway history," he said.

After his speech, a train carrying officials and model workers on the project set out from Golmud for Lhasa where it was due to arrive on Saturday night. Another train set out from Lhasa.

Zhou Yongkang, state councilor and member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, presented at a celebration held at the Lhasa Railway Station and waved farewell as the train moved.

More than 2,000 merrymaking people hailed the historic moment at the square in front of the newly-built two-storey Lhasa Railway Station, which stands on the south bank of the Lhasa River, 30 kilometers from the holy Potala Palace.

"Tashi Delek! (Good Fortune in Tibetan) We have waited for this moment for so long and today, the dream came true," said Wangzhag, a villager came to the station for celebration from Liuwu Town of Doilungdeqen County.

"I believe the trains will bring us fortune and blessing," said the 51-year-old Tibetan farmer, who is formally dressed in a scarlet traditional Tibetan suit with a hada, a white silk scarf symbolizing respect and blessing, in his hands.

Cering Lama from famous Jokhang Temple in Lhasa was a special guest invited to experience the maiden trip of the train "Tibet 2".

"I planned to visit the Ta'er Monastery in Xining, now it saves me much more time to be there by train," said Cering. The Ta'er Monastery is a holy place in memory of Tzongkapa, founder of Gelugba, or yellow sect of Tibetan Buddhism some six century ago.

For 54-year-old tourist Er Ting, who came to Lhasa from northeastern Heilongjiang Province a week ago, his dream of traveling the snow-covered plateau by train also came into reality on Saturday.

Er spent 368 yuan (46 U.S. dollars) to buy a berth ticket from Lhasa to Golmud, the first ticket sold at the Lhasa Railway Station. However, he did not even sit down in the bed for a while after he was aboard.

"I'm too exciting to sit down because I don't wanna missing any beautiful scenery," he told Xinhua, looking at the views through the window.

The train has specially designed cars with oxygen supplies to help passengers cope with the thin air and window filters to protect people from ultraviolet rays. High-tech cooling systems are to keep permafrost under the railbed frozen and stable.

"It is clean and comfortable here," said Zhang Ziyan, a second- grade student from the Beijing Primary School in Lhasa, who is also the youngest passenger on the train.

The eight-year-old boy, who was born in Lanzhou, walked back and forth along the aisle at the Carriage Four, looking around curiously.

Zhang's parents both work in Lhasa and the family used to spend about three days and nights through highway back to Lanzhou.

"If possible, I want to go to Beijing this summer by train because my dad told me the trip just took two days," said the boy.

Tibet makes up one eighth of the Chinese territory with a population of more than 2.7 million, but without a railway, passengers and goods had to be shipped by buses, trucks and planes. Little access to traffic and high transportation costs have long hindered the region's economic development.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, also the world's longest plateau railroad, stretches 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa. The section of 814 km from Xining to Golmud began operation in 1984 and the Golmud-Lhasa section started construction on June 29, 2001.

It will carry 75 percent of all the inbound cargo into Tibet, cutting transportation costs and boosting local economy, according to the Railway Ministry.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will stretch from Lhasa to other regions of Tibet, including Xigaze, Nyingchi and Yangdong, in five years, according to the ministry.

Source: Xinhua