Tibet's tourism benefits from Qinghai Tibet railway

With the operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the number of tourists to Tibet is increasing each year and Tibet’s tourism has been developing rapidly since 2006. The following data are the best provement that Tibet’s tourism benefits from Qinghai-Tibet Railway.    

In the first month that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened to traffic, over 70,000 passengers traveled to Lhasa by Tibet train from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xining.  

In 2006, the total number of tourists to Tibet was 2.5 million tourists. 150 thousand of them came from foreign countries. Then Tibet received 4 million tourists in 2007, up 60% from 2006, creating an income of 4.86 billion yuan, 60 percent and 75 percent higher respectively than in 2006, according to the official data. Bu the number of tourists to Tibet in 2008 decreased due to the riot happening on March 14, 2008.

However, Tibet’s tourism recovered quickly. Since 2009, the number of travelers to Tibet has been increasing year by year. In 2012, over 10 million travelers traveled to Tibet.

Since the railway was put in operation in July 2006, over 50 million people have traveled to Tibet by the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest railway.

Tibetan people also benefit from the operation of the railway. Take the people in Liuwu Village which is located near the Lhasa Railway Station for example. In the past, most villagers are farmers live on farming. But many farmers here begin to do business and trade with people from mainland China, while some run grocery shops, small restaurants and home-style hotels near the railway station, taking advantage of the businesses opportunities brought by the railway.

As more and more foreigners travel to Tibet, many young Tibetan people begin to learn English. Some of them become excellent Tibetan tour guide, while some get a job in a hotel or restaurant that offers service for foreign travelers. For instance, Luosang who was graduated from high school used to be a farmer, but now he is an English waiter in a restaurant in Lhasa.