The 68-kilometer-long highway, the first tourism route in Tibet, will greatly improve travel conditions from the regional capital Lhasa to the famous scenic spot Nam Co Lake, 200 kilometers away, sources with the regional tourism administration said.

The state has granted 17 million to Tibet to build the road, which is expected to be completed by October next year.

Statistics show that by July this year, a total of 336,000 tourists visited Tibet, two times the figure for the same period last year. Of this number, 50,000 were overseas visitors, representing an increase of 105.9 percent over the year-ago period.

(People’s Daily 11/21/2000)