Why was the Qinghai-Tibet Railway built? The answer is quite simple, that is, to improve the transportation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and to boost development of this region. In China, there is a proverb saying that "If people want to be rich, they must first build roads." Before 2006, most people could only get into or out of Tibet by road. It usually took a few days. Though they could also travel by air, most people were not able to afford the one-way air ticket of over RMB 1,500. Thus, this region needed other means of transportation badly to solve these problems. Before the construction of the railway, people coming to Tibet were amazed at the majesty of Tibet’s snowfield scenery. Cut off from the outside world, everything on the plateau - its snow-capped mountains, grassland, lamas, prayer banners, the Potala Palace, and the Tibetan people living 4,000 meters or more above sea level, had an aura of mystery.
The scenery in Tibet was so beautiful, but it lagged behind other areas of the world. Located at a remote area in south-west China with a harsh climate and geographic environment, Tibet’s inadequate transportation facilities with restricted its economic development, and communication the world. It was obvious that if Tibet was to develop and catch up with the world, there must be a railway. To build a railway in Tibet would definitely benefit its local development in many aspects.
Hence, a plan to build a railway to Tibet was made. In fact, four possible railway routes were designed. These were the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Sichuan-Tibet Railway, Yunnan-Tibet Railway and Xinjiang-Tibet Railway. After careful study and discussing the feasibility of constructing the railways, the scientists settled on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Because, aside from the frozen earth problem, it was by far the best choice of the four, as it avoided avalanches, desert, and marshland. It is nevertheless a project up to now unequalled in engineering cost, project duration, and transportation capacity. On June 29, 2001, construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway started at Golmud, Qinghai Province.
