Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a great engineering project in the world

When travelers plan a tour to Tibet, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway might come into their mind immediately as it is a popular way to go to Tibet by train via this railway.

Known as the highest railway in the world, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the first railway to Tibet and also the only railway to Tibet at present. Since its operation in 2006, it has attracted millions of visitors. Travelers choose to travel to Tibet via this railway not only because of its beautiful scenery, but also because that the railway itself.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is reputed as an engineering miracle in human’s history. You know, before the operation of this railway only a few people in the world believed that Chinese could build a railway on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau which features high altitude, low temperature and fragile ecological environment. To build this railway, they must solve the three major challenges, lack of oxygen, permafrost and fragile ecosystem. Many international experts even thought that it was impossible to solve the problem of permafrost.

To solve the problem of lack of oxygen, as many as 115 medical facilities were set up along the railway, staffed with more than 600 medical professionals and 17 oxygen-making stations. Every 10 kilometers, there was a clinic available. The workers shouldered oxygen bottles to get to work.

To get rid of the problem of permafrost, different ways were used. At first, the permafrost areas were avoided as much as possible, by building bridges instead of railroad. Building a bridge over the permafrost, though expensive, has the least impact on the area. When avoidance was impossible, stone embankments - a layer of loosely piled chunks of granite about the size of baseballs were used. This allowed enough space between the rocks for air to circulate freely. Moreover, ventilation pipes were buried in the ground; thermosiphons were sunk into the ground with the bottom being filled with ammonia at some places. These pipes simply allowed the cold air to circulate underneath the rail-bed.

Environment protection was the first concern in the construction of this railway to Tibet. RMB1.54 billion was invested in the project, for environmental protection. Adverse impact of the railway construction on the ecological environment was kept to a minimum.  

Thus, it is no wonder that so many travelers take a train to Tibet to experience this great engineering project in the world.