Qingzang Railway Takes You To “The Roof Of The World” Quite Comfortably

One of the high-altitude railways in the world, Qingzang Railway also referred as Qinghai-Tibet railway links up Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in China. Inaugurated by President Hu Jintao on 1st July 2006, the railway is named after its first two passengers “Qing 1″ from Golmud, and “Zang 2″ from Lhasa. Qingzang is the first railway to link up China with Tibet Autonomous Region – the last province-level entity in China to have a conventional railway, due to its high altitude and tough terrain.

The 815 kilometers section from Xining to Golmud was opened way back in 1984. The remaining 1,142 kilometers section from Golmud to Lhasa was built after China’s recent economic growth. The work in this section was formally started on 29th June, 2001. With more than 80% of the railway running at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level, the trains are especially built to survive the high altitude environment. The Qingzang railway project engaged over 6,000 pieces of industrial equipment, and more than 20,000 workers. It is considered as one the major architectural achievements of China in 21^st century.