Whether northbound or southbound, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has changed the
lifestyles of those who use it, witnessing a daily intake of around
4,000 passengers since its maiden voyage on July 1.
Xining, capital city of Qinghai Province, is the starting point of the
railway's first section, inaugurated in 1984.
"July and August form the best season for visiting the scenic spots
on the plateau. Furthermore, Xining has reaped great profits from
the railway since many tourists en route to Tibet stop off at the
Qinghai Lake or Ta'er Monastery first," said 36-year-old taxi
driver Zhang Qiang, a native of the city.
Zhang saw his earnings soar to above 4,000 yuan (US$501.9) this
summer from around 3,000 yuan (US$376.4) previously. His wife, Ms.
Zhao, running a little handicraft souvenirs shop in downtown
Xining, also saw a 10 percent hike in her July income. "We are
planning to open another chain store for her next year and she
could be a 'big boss' then," Zhang smiled.
With more passersby coming to Xining, the province received 1.63
million tourists in July, up 34 percent from 2005, who provided 818
million yuan (US$102.6 million) of revenue, up 30 percent on the
same period last year, according to Li Jincheng, vice governor of
Qinghai.
"Qinghai features many unique scenic attractions such as the
Qinghai Lake, the Sanjiangyuan area (containing the Yellow, Lancang
and Yangtze river springs), the Ta'er Monastery as well as the Hoh
Xil nature reserve. The railway has inter-connected them with Tibet, Gansu and other tourism routes for better
development," Li noted.
However, halfway, the line has a different scene. Unlike Xining,
Golmud, the starting point of the railway's second section, has
gradually lost its appeal.
Over the last half-century, the city, formerly a military
transportation base, used to be the main entrance to Tibet, the
only land route across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by which materials
and goods were carried to Lhasa.
Ma Yun, 27, from the Hui minority, moved from his hometown
Tianshui in Gansu Province to Golmud with his wife three years ago,
and began making shish kebabs on the Kunlun road.
"What does the line bring to me? Just take a look: so many
people have disappeared," Ma said, tapping his fingers on the
stand. It used to be a busy place in the evening but now all the
construction workers have gone and most travelers are heading for
Tibet, Ma said.
"We usually started business at 7 PM, finishing at midnight but
now we have to work until 5 AM to live," said Ma's wife, 25.
The opening of the railway resulted in a halt of the flow of
people and goods into Golmud. From now on, 75 percent of goods
coming in and out of Tibet will be transported by train, driving
down highway freight transportation down by 80 percent.
According to Lamao Jiancuo, deputy secretary of the Golmud
municipal Party committee, this is due to the cheaper value of
railway transportation (0.12 yuan per ton compared with 0.5 yuan by
road.) The regional government is making efforts to turn the
ex-transfer town into a goods distribution and supply center.
To Xie Kangmin, general manager of Qinghai Salt Lake Industrial
Group, China's largest producer of potassium chloride fertilizer,
the opening of the railway is bitter-sweet.
"The construction of the multiple track and the electrization of
the railway have led to the slowing down of potash fertilizer
transportation. However, I am confident for the future since next
year, the line's distribution capacity should be dramatically
increased," Xie said.
In the suburbs of Golmud live a group of Tibetans who were
herdsmen in the Tanggula Mountain Village before the railway line
passed their field.
Gengga Lanjie, 53, and his wife were one of 128 families
transferred from the 4,300m-mountain area to Golmud in 2004.
"The government gave us 40,000 yuan (US$5,019.2) as a
construction subsidy in the beginning with 6,000 yuan (US$752.9)
monthly food subsidy for five years," he said.
Gengga has three children: one son and two daughters. All of
them still live in the Tanggula Mountain Village, earning 5,000
yuan (US$627.4) apiece by breeding yaks and sheep.
"They usually come to see us at the end of the year, a journey
taking four to five hours. The income here is almost the same as on
the mountain but the quality of life is much higher here," he
said.
The residential zone
for immigrants
According to Qian Huasang, deputy secretary of the village's
Party committee, the government built the residential zone
specially for immigrants with each family sharing a 300 sq.m
courtyard and 56 sq.m of living space. In addition to being
construction workers in the city, the ex-herdsmen could also
receive free training before securing jobs in the nearby Tibetan
carpet factory to be opened later this year.
In Tibet, many herdsmen also saw their lifestyle experiencing
big changes due to the railroad.
Cidan Duoji, a 37-year-old Tibetan in Dangxiong Prefecture, used
to breed 98 yaks and over 50 sheep, earning a yearly 60,000 yuan
(US$7,528.8) from his trade. In 2003, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway
construction gave him a new money-making idea: sending sand and
stone for the railroad project.
Cidan Duoji
shows?his water jug made in Nepal
"Now I have my own car and company. Apart from the stockbreeding
income, I am capable of earning 160,000 yuan (US$20,076.8) each
year by sending sand to the construction sites. Since I started
this business, the demand for these raw materials has risen by 80
percent," he said.
According to the Tibet Tourism Bureau, some 374,000 Chinese and
16,700 foreigners visited the region last month, generating 4.35
million yuan (US$545,721.7) of revenue, up 43.7 percent on 2005.
More people like Cidan Duoji are encouraged to engage in the
transportation and service sectors along the track, as part of a
government attempt to improve the lives of the herdsmen and local
Tibetans. With the multiple tracks to be opened next year, more
opportunities are waiting ahead for the highland people.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Li Xiao, August 28, 2006)
