The recent two decades have witnessed a booming mountaineering industry in Tibet Autonomous Region, which attracts a large number of mountaineering explorers and tourists from both at home and abroad each year.
Gao Mouxing, secretary-general of the Tibet Mountaineering Association, said that sine the 1980s, Tibet has opened in succession 46 mountains including the Mount Qomolangma (Everest) and has received about 10,000 mountaineers from more than 40 countries and regions.
According to statistics, mountaineering has brought a total income of 120 million yuan, and tax revenue of 3.2 million yuan to the state, 2.3 million yuan income for local prefectures and counties where the mountains are located, and over 8 million yuan as payment for labor services and yak transportation provided by local people.
Tibet, a region of mountains, has Mount Qomolangma and four other mountain peaks over 8,000 meters high, more than 70 mountains of over 7,000 meters above the sea level.
Over the past two decades, Tibet has gradually set up a series of industries in service of mountaineering, such as reception, communications, lodging as well as mountain transportation and mountain coordination. The Tibet Mountaineering Association can receive an average of 1,000 mountaineers in 40 groups each year.
The Himalayas international mountaineering now enjoys its golden age. With the development of economy, culture, education, sports of Tibet, the number of foreign mountaineering teams coming to Tibet will be on the increase while domestic amateur mountaineering is in the ascendant.
(People’s Daily 11/13/2000)
