For builders of the Qinghai- Tibet railway, it's local Tibetans' "sacred lake" rather than a technical problem just 10 meters from their work.

Construction officials said the building of the world's highest railway should by no means disturb Cona Lake, a holy site known as a "sacred lake" by people in Angdo County, in the north of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Seven full-time environmental engineers have closely monitored the surroundings, including birds and water quality in four observation stations established along Cona Lake.

"We supervise and monitor the wildlife and the lake water here according to the highest standards," said Wang Hui, one of the environmental engineers.

Wang said their monitoring indicated the construction of the railway had caused no harm to the ecological environment along the railway line.

Railway construction workers built a 20-kilometer protective wall of sandbags to safeguard the lake, a place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of Tibetans in the Tibetan Year of Dragon.

Management officials of the railway construction project said workers would be prohibited from crossing the wall.

Prohibited activities include fishing in the lake, collecting wildlife and discharging sewage and construction waste into the lake.

"The protection of Cona Lake is among our top priorities in our environmental protection efforts in our management areas," said Zhuo Lei, an official supervising construction of the railway section.

"Anyone who violates those regulations will face a fine for the first offense," Zhuo said. "Violators will be dismissed if they break the rules again."

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