China opens 1st train service to Tibet
Ap, Beijing
The first train service to Tibet opened Saturday on the world's highest railway, an engineering feat protesters say could threaten the restive Himalayan region's environment and Buddhist culture. Chinese President Hu Jintao cut a giant red ribbon at a nationally televised ceremony in the western city of Golmud as the first train left for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa carrying 600 passengers. Musicians in Chinese and Tibetan costumes banged on drums and cymbals. Minutes later, state television showed a second train pulling out of Lhasa travelling toward Golmud. A third train was due to leave Beijing for the Tibetan capital later in the day. "This is a magnificent feat by the Chinese people, and also a miracle in world railway history," Hu said. He said it showed China's people were "ambitious, self-confident and capable of standing among the world's advanced nations." The $4.2 billion train project is part of the Chinese government's efforts to develop poor, restive areas in China's west and bind them more closely to the country's booming east.
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A Tibetan passenger waves as she boards yesterday the first train to depart Lhasa railway station on the new China-Tibet rail line in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. China opened the world's highest railway linking the remote Himalayan region of Tibet with the rest of the country in a symbol of power that President Hu Jintao hailed a "miracle". PHOTO: AFP |
