Basang has never laid eyes on a train -- unless you count the ones
he's seen in movies or on the old television shows that feed his
curiosity about the world beyond the Tibetan plateau.
Now the Lhasa native is a worker on one of the most ambitious
railway projects ever undertaken -- a 1,142-kilometer push through
jagged peaks and frozen plateaus to connect Tibet's
capital with other parts of the country.
The government says the project, begun in 2001, will bring
unprecedented economic development and opportunity for the
Himalayan region.
For Basang, 22, however, it's just a job -- albeit one that
earns him considerably more than the majority of Tibetans, who
remain largely herders and farmers, could hope to earn.
"This project will bring economic development, especially
tourism," said Basang, who uses no surname following traditional
Tibetan practice. And the negative impact? "I don't know of any,"
he said.
As he spoke, Basang stood beside one of the railroad's key
projects, a bridge 900 meters long that will span the Lhasa River
at the terminus of the line.
Surrounded by clouded peaks, the river courses under an iron
support structure while massive rolling cranes painted with slogans
such as "Build a first-class high plateau railway" stand ready to
drop steel track in place.
The government is sinking almost 24 billion yuan (US$2.89
billion) into the line, due for completion in July 2005, adding to
the billions of US dollars it has already pumped into Tibet, one of
the poorest and least developed regions in China.
On the line, all sections are under construction and technical
difficulties abound. The air is so thin in some areas -- 900
kilometers of the track will run at more than 4,000 meters -- that
workers must wear oxygen masks and train cars will have to be
pressurized.
More than 540 kilometers will run over frozen soil that can
shift the track as it thaws during the daytime, forcing engineers
to devise techniques to keep the ground temperature constant.
Impact on the fragile Himalayan environment is also a concern --
one that builders say they are taking steps to minimize. Measures
include cuttings to allow animals such as the endan-gered Tibetan
antelope to pass under tracks.
At the Lhasa River bridge, all but 60 of the 800 workers come
from engineering companies in central China. Engineer Zhou
Yousheng, from the city of Wuhan, typifies sentiments among them:
He says the line will bring prosperity to Tibet.
(eastday.com August 27, 2003)