Tibet Autonomous Region will not be the sole beneficiary of the newly-completed Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Qinghai, China's largest landlocked province, is also bracing itself for new opportunities brought along by the new economic artery.

According to the Qinghai Tourism Bureau, the number of visits to Qinghai will jump by 400,000 when the railway is fully functional.

To grasp the golden opportunity, governments at all levels should prepare themselves to welcome visitors coming from afar. Qinghai's tourism bureau is checking its star-rated hotels along the railway in recent days. Hotels that fail to reach qualifications will face consolidation within a certain time limit. The provincial traffic department is checking the province's road conditions and making necessary repairs. Language training involving English and Tibetan is also under way at Xining Railway Station.

"The new railway will also bring a lot of jobs," an official from the provincial tourism bureau said.

From May 30th to June 2nd, the provincial tourism bureau invited representatives from the Guangzhou branch of Southern Airlines and six travel agencies from Guangzhou to do market research. After visiting Qinghai Lake, Ta'er Monastery and Xinbula scenic area, representatives from Guangzhou expressed their wish to organize tours to Qinghai as soon as possible.  

(CRIENGLISH.com June 21, 2006)