Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the first railway linking Tibet with the rest of China, began at 11:00 am in this capital city of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region Friday.
The opening ceremony for the project was held at Zao'erfeng Tunnel, on the southern bank of Lhasa River, this morning.
The 1,118-kilometer railway will extend from Lhasa in Tibet to Golmud in Qinghai province in northwest China. It will be the longest and most elevated railway built on highlands in the world.
More than 960 kilometers, or over four-fifths of the railway will be built at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. And over half of it will be laid on earth that has been frozen for a long time.
(People's Daily 06/29/2001)
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