b****s
发帖数: 1300 | 1 http://www.economist.com/node/17204635?story_id=17204635
Railways in Tibet
Mount Everest is singing for joy
Everyone else is worried
Oct 7th 2010 | beijing
“MOUNT EVEREST is singing for joy and the Brahmaputra River swirling with
happiness”. Or so says an official Chinese newspaper (using the Tibetan
names, Qomolangma and the Yarlung Tsangpo). After much delay, China has
started to extend its controversial railway line in Tibet that will draw
more tourists to the mountain and boost trade with South Asia. How happy the
outcome will be is not so clear.
Planning for the 253km (157-mile) line from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to
the region’s second city, Shigatse, began in 2002, four years before Lhasa
itself was connected to China’s railway network. The authorities appear not
have been deterred by the problems that the railway brought to Lhasa. A
tourism boom and a flood of immigrants from China’s interior contributed to
an explosion of unrest among embittered Tibetans in March 2008. The launch
ceremony in Lhasa of the $2 billion extension on September 26th was
celebrated by dancing children in elaborate Tibetan costumes. Chinese
television said the line would be of “great significance for the
strengthening of ethnic unity”.
Like the route to Lhasa, which crossed the highest terrain of any railway in
the world, the single-track extension will involve considerable technical
difficulties. Nearly half of it will go through tunnels or over bridges (96
of them). It will cross areas prone to earthquakes, landslides and sand
storms. Whereas the line to Lhasa had to traverse unstable permafrost, the
new one will be challenged by geothermal fields with hot springs. All this
at an oxygen-starved altitude of 3,550-4,000 metres.
The railway will make it easier to reach Mount Everest, which can expect to
see a lot more tourists eager to be photographed in front of the world’s
highest peak (Shigatse is also due to open an airport soon, Tibet’s fifth
for civilian use). In 2007 the Chinese side of the mountain recorded 27,476
visits by Chinese tourists, almost twice as many as in 2006, after the new
rail service to Lhasa had opened. Environmentalists are worried.
Shadows over Qomolangma
So are the Indians. The government in Delhi has been nervously watching
China’s build-up of infrastructure in Tibet. The extension to Shigatse,
besides facilitating military movements near China’s border with India, is
likely to boost trade with Nepal, where the two giants are vying for
influence in a power struggle that is still going on. China has long-term
plans for more extensions of the line, to Nyalam on the border with Nepal
and to Dromo near Bhutan and the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal wants the
railway extended to Kathmandu, which India fears would give China more clout
in a country India sees as part of its sphere of influence. Another
proposed line, from Lhasa east to Nyingchi, would bring the network close to
the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which most of China claims.
Tibetans might have mixed feelings too. The rail link to Lhasa brought
disproportionate benefits to ethnic Han Chinese whose language and culture
enabled them to take quicker advantage of the Han tourist influx. Tibet
Business News said the majority of traders in Shigatse were migrants from
beyond Tibet. It quoted a woman from neighbouring Sichuan Province saying
that the railway would cut her costs of doing business in Shigatse by half.
Expect more like her to come. | b****s
发帖数: 1300 | 2 一个藏人的Comment：
Tarzan_US wrote:
Oct 7th 2010 5:47 GMT
To BrainWarrior,
what do the Tibetan people want? How do you know we Tibetans do not want the
railway? To tell you the truth, it has been our several generations' dream
to walk towards outside, to be connected to the outside world. But we can
not because 1. no railways 2. In the past, those slave owners (including
Dalai Lama and his family) do NOT want us to see the outside world.
Now you tell us we should say 'No thanks'.
How about lock you down in those mountains for centuries and ask you to say
'No' to your rescuer! | b****s
发帖数: 1300 | | p******u
发帖数: 14642 | 4 阿三又要悲愤了，洋彪子也别太刺激三锅啊。本来三锅的军费都够高的了，现在不更惨
？ | l*s
发帖数: 6372 | 5 lol
the
【在 b****s 的大作中提到】
: http://www.economist.com/node/17204635?story_id=17204635
: Railways in Tibet
: Mount Everest is singing for joy
: Everyone else is worried
: Oct 7th 2010 | beijing
: “MOUNT EVEREST is singing for joy and the Brahmaputra River swirling with
: happiness”. Or so says an official Chinese newspaper (using the Tibetan
: names, Qomolangma and the Yarlung Tsangpo). After much delay, China has
: started to extend its controversial railway line in Tibet that will draw
: more tourists to the mountain and boost trade with South Asia. How happy the
| J**n
发帖数: 1224 | 6 GEES,看看留言，都是外籍五毛啊。
NED又要减薪了。
the
【在 b****s 的大作中提到】
: http://www.economist.com/node/17204635?story_id=17204635
: Railways in Tibet
: Mount Everest is singing for joy
: Everyone else is worried
: Oct 7th 2010 | beijing
: “MOUNT EVEREST is singing for joy and the Brahmaputra River swirling with
: happiness”. Or so says an official Chinese newspaper (using the Tibetan
: names, Qomolangma and the Yarlung Tsangpo). After much delay, China has
: started to extend its controversial railway line in Tibet that will draw
: more tourists to the mountain and boost trade with South Asia. How happy the
| c*********r
发帖数: 19468 | 7 有几个貌似老印的还是比较明白事理的
【在 J**n 的大作中提到】
: GEES,看看留言，都是外籍五毛啊。
: NED又要减薪了。
:
: the
| b****s
发帖数: 1300 | 8 看来funding不太好骗了。
【在 c*********r 的大作中提到】
: 有几个貌似老印的还是比较明白事理的
| c****i
发帖数: 788 | 9 中宣部太强大了 ，ned 的资金完全比不过啊..
【在 J**n 的大作中提到】
: GEES,看看留言，都是外籍五毛啊。
: NED又要减薪了。
:
: the
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