Bridges and tunnels will account for 7 percent of the total length of the Gelmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest in the world.

According to a latest bulletin released by the railway's construction headquarters, the longest tunnel on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will be 1,720 meters long.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is one of the most ambitious projects in history. Its Xining-Gelmud section was completed and opened to traffic in 1984.

Last year, China decided to continue construction of the most difficult Gelmud-Lhasa section of the railway, in an effort to help improve the traffic conditions on the Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world".

The total length of the Gelmud-Lhasa Railway will be 1,118 kilometers, of which 965 kilometers will be built in places more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

(People's Daily 06/25/2001)