Plateau railway new engine for Tibet's economic growth

LHASA - On a sunny spring day, a green Fuxing bullet train ran through the mountains along the Yarlung Zangbo River, heading for Nyingchi, a city known for its peach blossoms in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Liu Lili didn't want to miss the peach blossom season. Working in a clothing store in the city of Xigaze, she bought a C893 train ticket from Xigaze to Nyingchi, planning to visit her sister there and enjoy the peach blossoms together with her.

"When the train passed through the Lhasa station, I thought most passengers on the carriage would get off. To my surprise, they also headed to Nyingchi to see the flowers like me," said Liu, 25.

This was the first spring since the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway opened for operation on June 25, 2021. The first electrified railway in Tibet, with a designed train speed of 160 kph, has cut the travel time from some five hours by bus to three and a half hours.