Tibet is building its first telpher at Zhangmu Township in an effort to facilitate border trade China and Nepal.

The cableway is 2,208 meters long, the second longest in China.When operational, it is expected to transport 400 people or 30 tons of cargo an hour, at a speed of 0.4 meters per second. Total cost of the project is 24 million yuan (US$2.9 million).

Zhangmu Township covers an area of 70 square kilometers with an elevation of 2,200 meters. Nearly 200,000 Chinese and Nepalese pass the town for border trade every year.

Currently it takes more than one hour to get the town from the border or the other way round as there is merely a 8.7-km-long narrow path which is frequently hit by landslide. The cableway will shorten the journey to only 10 minutes.

(Eastday.com.cn 06/01/2001)