The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will undoubtedly bring
benefits to the Tibetan people, said the 11th Panchen Lama on
Saturday while visiting the Lhasa railway station.
"It's apparent that the railway will promote the economic and
social development of Tibet," said the 11th Panchen Lama, or
Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu.
The 17-year-old leader of Tibetan Buddhism was enthroned in 1995
after being approved by the central government as the reincarnation
of the 10th Panchen Lama.
Escorted by railway officials, the high monk visited the
two-story railway station Saturday morning, which stands on the
south bank of the Lhasa River, 30 kilometers from the holy Potala Palace.
Standing at an altitude of 3,600 meters, the terminal station of
the 1,956-kilometer Qinghai-Tibet Railway is located in
Doilungdeqen County, southwest of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The station sees an average of 2,300 passengers each day since
the railway began operation on July 1, according to station
managers.
"It's very, very beautiful," said the Panchen Lama upon arriving
at the traditional Tibetan-style architecture in red, white and
yellow.
Describing the railway as a link for national unity, the young
lama said that he believes the railroad will help promote exchanges
between Tibetans and other ethnic groups in China.
"I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the builders of
the railway, who left their homes and overcame tremendous hardship
for the benefit of people in Tibet," he said.
The Panchen Lama once visited a railway construction site in
neighboring Qinghai Province in 2003.
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway runs across the frozen tundra of the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from Lhasa to Xining, capital of Qinghai
Province. The section between Golmud and Lhasa, completed last
October, measures 1,142 kilometers.
The railway is the highest and longest highland railroad in the
world and the first to connect the Tibet Autonomous Region with
other parts of China.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2006)
