The recently-issued Austrian stamp celebrating the launch of the Qinghai-Tibet railway would boost Austrians' understanding and a wider interest in the railway, said an official of the Chinese embassy on Friday.

The commemorative stamp, with a par value of 55 euro cents, was issued by the Austrian Post. With the grand Potala Palace as the background and the English version of "Qinghai-Tibet railway" on the upper part, the stamp shows a passenger train crossing the railway bridge over the Lhasa river.

A delegation from Austria Post visited China in July after the launch of the railway on July 1, taking trains from Xining in China's western Qinghai province, through Golmud to Tibet's regional capital Lhasa, in order to get first-hand background for the design of the stamp, said the official.

During their journey, the new type of train and the beautiful landscape in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had deeply impressed them, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2006)