China to build highest section of Qinghai-Tibet Railway
( 2003-09-09 13:27) (Agencies)
Chinese railway workers have
completed a 131-km work road for the construction of the highest section of the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest of its kind in the world.
Winding through a mountain 5,072 meters above sea level, the work road was
built to transport materials for the construction of the world's toughest
railway project. Its completion paved the way for the construction of the
highest section of the railway, according to officials overseeing the
construction of the project.
The road was built through an uninhabited area in the Tanggula mountains on
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The oxygen content in the air there is only half that
in coastal areas and the earth is permanently frozen, making the construction
extremely difficult.
When completed, the 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet Railway will link Xining, capital
of Qinghai Province in northwest China, with Lhasa, capital of Tibet in
southwest China.
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