China's first rail to 'sea of death' starts operation (3)

（People's Daily Online）  16:31, November 30, 2012

Edited and translated by Liang Jun, People's Daily Online

On Nov. 29, with the freight train moving slowly from Hami to Lop Nor, the former lake that is known as "the sea of death," in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region enters a new era.

The railway from Hami to Lop Nor runs through nine stations along the route and is planned to have a freight capacity of 33 million tonnes a year. It will play an important role for the development of mineral resources, especially for potassium salt, and acceleration the economic growth of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions.

The Lop Nur was the largest lake in northwestern China before it dried up in 1972 as a result of desertification and environmental degradation.