After four years of construction, China has completed a railway line connecting Lhasa to Shigatse in the southwest Tibet Autonomous Region. The line will begin operating soon.

Known as the first extension line of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the 253-kilometer line stretches through five counties and several natural sites, including Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon and Qomolangma.

Running over an altitude of over 3 kilometers, it is also called the “rail above the clouds.” Southwestern Tibet’s transportation system has been dominated by road travel, but the new railway is expected to change that.