In the next five years, more and more fascinating tourist
destinations will appear in western China due to the convenient
transportation condition.
Officials from Tibet consider tourism as one of the five pillar
industries for the region in this century.
"Tibet, with its unique culture and scenery, is everyone's
dreamland. The railway construction and the policy to develop the
western areas will greatly promote the tourism industry," Legqog,
chairman of the region said Thursday at a tourism development
seminar.
The first 10 construction companies that are responsible for the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway have been positioned along the road. The
remarkable job of the world's highest railway is to begin in nine
days.
Legqog said, "Local people expect the most economic benefit coming
from tourism industry."
Tourism is gaining more and more popularity in China where the GDP
per capita reached US$800 last year.
During the week-long May Day vacation, over 60 million Chinese
people traveled around, with several hundred thousands going to
Tibet. For those who were unable to go, the main barrier was not
scarce oxygen because of high altitude, but transportation
problems.
People from Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia will also benefit from
transportation construction. The China Development Bank will open
five branches in these areas to back eight main railways in the
west.
In
the past decade, China has been devoted to developing the western
underdeveloped areas. In the next five years, China will invest
some 100 billion yuan to build railways there.
The main projects include railway networks linking the east and
west and among the western region.
In
five years, the speed of the train will be greatly improved, and
trains will be able to cross the border into Southeast Asian
countries.
(Xinhua News Agency 06/22/2001)