Railway boosts economic growth in Tibet

The addition of new lines to Tibet's rail infrastructure is set to further transform the region's fortunes in 2014.

The autonomous region in southwest China has benefitted enormously since the Qinghai-Tibet railway opened in 2006, and the annual meeting of Tibet's regional legislature was alive with talk of two more lines that it is hoped can consolidate economic growth.

"The construction of a railway linking [regional capital] Lhasa with Xigaze, the second-largest city in Tibet, will be completed this year," said regional chairman Losang Jamcan at the five-day meeting, which concluded on Tuesday.

Construction of a line between Lhasa and Nyingchi, a prefecture in southeast Tibet that borders India, will also kick off in 2014, according to Jamcan.

The 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet railway running from Golmud in northwestern Qinghai Province to Lhasa has proven effective in boosting local business.

Official figures show Tibet's gross domestic product has soared from 34.2 billion yuan (5.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006 to 80.2 billion yuan last year, an average annual growth of at least 10 percent.

The railway has brought a surge of tourists, boosting Tibet's tourism, hospitality and manufacturing sectors.

The autonomous region received 1.8 million tourists from home and abroad in 2005, one year ahead of the opening of the landmark rail link, while it received 12.9 million tourists in 2013, according to the regional tourism bureau.

Tourism revenues grew to 16.5 billion yuan in 2013 from 1.94 billion yuan in 2005, it added.

Many Tibetan farmers and herdsmen have embraced the new opportunities. Hostels and restaurants have sprung up along the railway in the past seven years.

Many that have profited from the tourism boom are plotting more success as the number of visitors looks likely to keep booming.

Tonzhub, credited as the first Tibetan farmer-turned-hotel keeper, is a millionaire off the back of this and other construction projects he launched with an eye on the influx of tourists. At the weekend, he invited experts from Beijing to look into upgrading his shabby hostel into a starred hotel ahead of the tourist season that begins in May.

"The guest rooms are far from enough," said the 44-year-old former barley planter in Lnaze County. He opened the first "farmer hotel" in the plateau region in 1999.

Tonzhub is just one of the nouveau riche to emerge with the railway.

"Young men in our village have been competing to run passenger transportation businesses ever since the railway opened," said Losang Cering, a suburban villager who lives close to Lhasa Railway Station.

"The number of taxis in our village has grown almost tenfold to 100 at present," said Cering. "Each taxi can earn more than 200 yuan a day."

More than 330,000 people in Tibet, or 10 percent of its population, are engaged in the tourism industry, according to the regional tourism bureau.

Meanwhile, the railway has helped Tibetan produce be transported for sale across China, turning rich resources into big earnings.

Plateau products such as herbs, yak meat and traditional artwork are now sold domestically as well as internationally. Beer brands made with highland barley and plateau mineral water are very popular in China's eastern regions.

"The Qinghai-Tibetan railway has made the hidden advantages of Tibet stand out and greatly improved Tibet's self-development capacity," said Liao Yidong, deputy chairman of the regional federation of industry and commerce.

Investors have pinned high hopes on the returns from tourism, mineral and forest resources as well as ecological environment in Tibet. At a trade promotion event in August in Lhasa, more than 200 programs were signed with a total investment volume of 239.3 billion yuan.

Thanks to the Qinghai-Tibet railway and rapid development of Tibet's industries, the region's import and export volume surpassed 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, according to customs data.

The new train lines pushed for by the regional government can only prompt more economic growth.