The Qinghai-Tibet railway on the "roof of the world" has transported more than 70,000 passengers to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, since it opened to traffic on July 1, a railway official said on Wednesday.

Chief Coordinator Zhang Xiqing of the Qinghai-Tibet railway company told a press conference held here Wednesday that from July 1 to 31, trains departing from Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Lanzhou and Xi'ning cities carried 71,460 passengers to Lhasa, and brought back 73,240.

Over the past month, tourists have filled 97 percent of seats on trains to Lhasa every day, said Zhang.

Li Jincheng, vice governor of Qinghai, told the press that the opening of Qinghai-Tibet railway had boosted tourism development in Qinghai Province on the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

A total of 1.63 million tourists visited Qinghai Province in the past month, 34 percent more than the figure for the same period last year, generating tourism revenue of 818 million yuan (US$1.02 million).

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2006)