Riding along 'route to heaven': 10th anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

July 1 marks the 10th anniversary of the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Over the past 3,600 days, there have been about 30 trains every day, which have transported more than 100 million passengers, 500 million tons of goods and helped to boost Tibet's GDP which now exceeds 100 billion yuan. 

At a total length of 1,956 kilometers, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway connects Xining, the capital city of northwestern China's Qinghai province in the east and Lhasa, the capital city of China's Tibet Autonomous Region in the south.

The first phase of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway between Xining and Golmud began to be constructed in 1958 and the 814-km-long line was put into service in 1984. The second phase linking Golmud to Lhasa is 1,142 kilometers long and opened to traffic on July 1, 2006 after five years of construction.

Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's most amazing railway and is called "the route to heaven". The railway boasts the world's highest railway tunnel the Fenghuoshan Tunnel, which stands 4,910 meters above sea level, the world's highest railway station the Tanggula Station, 5,608 meters above sea level, the 11.7-km-long Qingshui River Bridge, at an altitude of 4,500 meters in the Hoh Xil unpopulated area, the 690-meter-long Sancha River Bridge, which is 54 meters above the valley floor.

In May 2016, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opening to the traffic, reporters rode the train along "the route to heaven" again to bring our readers the latest report on geographical landscape, historical and cultural relics, local customs, economic development, tourist attractions, ecological environment and wildlife the along the railroad.