From July 21 to 23 last year, President Xi Jinping visited the Tibet autonomous region for the 70th anniversary of the region's peaceful liberation, the first time that a top Chinese leader took part in such a celebration.

On July 22, Xi went to the Nyingchi Railway Station to learn about the overall design of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and the operation of its Lhasa-Nyingchi section, and then the president took a train to Lhasa.

He said that building the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is a significant step in promoting Tibet's development and improving local people's livelihoods.

Given the complex topography and climate conditions and great difficulties in constructing the section between Ya'an in Sichuan province and Nyingchi, Xi stressed the need to allow technological innovation to play a key role in the process and to stick to scientific, safe and green construction of the landmark railway.

Due to the many rivers and mountains along the rail line's route, construction of numerous bridges and tunnels was required, and these account for about 75 percent of the line. The potential for landslides, earthquakes and heavy snow in the area also challenged the line's builders.

Yang Hao, a professor of rail transportation management at Beijing Jiaotong University, said the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, as a pilot project of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, is a major traffic channel for Tibet's southeastern areas. It is therefore significant to the country's western development, regional economy and national unity, he said.

Yang said that the challenges of the project are reflected in the construction of the line's bridges and tunnels.

Expertise demonstrated

"Because the rail line cuts through complex geological conditions such as valleys and high mountains, the project is much more difficult than the Qinghai-Tibet Railway," he said, adding that the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is the most arduous railway project in China.

Yang said the line also reflects the country's expertise in railway construction in plateau regions.

As the second major traffic channel connecting Tibet with the rest of China－the first is the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which began operations in 2006－the Sichuan-Tibet Railway forms a grid offering greater accessibility, flexibility and reliability in the rail and road network, and it has created wider coverage of services to benefit residents, Yang added.

"It has further improved the railway network in China's western regions," he said. "It is of great value in making the economic and cultural ties closer between the Tibet autonomous region and the rest of China."

[email protected]