I
got an email with few photos attached from one of my Chinese friend
from Beijing sharing with me about his recent exciting Train ride on the
“Rocket to the roof of the world”- Sky Train, as the Chinese call it.
What my friend wrote to me is an amazing
story of the world's highest railway, a controversial engineering
marvel meant to bind the restive Himalayan region to China, between
Beijing and Lhasa covering 2,525 miles.
Building a railroad into Tibet has been the obsession of every Chinese leader since Chairman Mao, and in July 2006 they finally succeeded.This is the world’s highest railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which makes a trip to Tibet extremely unparalleled and attractive across the vantage point for viewing the plateau scenery. This train ride with awesome outside scenery varied from tedious to literally breathtaking is an ‘everybody-should-do-it’-at-least-once-in-their-lifetime experience.
The train starts at the Beijing West Railway Station, not far from
Tiananmen Square, (Mainland China) every night at 9:30 p.m. and arrives
in Lhasa (Tibetan Capital) just under 48 hours later. The highest point
on the rail line, the ‘Tangu La pass’, on the travelers map guide places
it at an altitude of 16,994.75 feet. One thing is certain; the human
body was never designed to rocket up to an elevation at such height. The
atmosphere here holds between 40 and 50 percent less oxygen than at sea
level. Extra oxygen is pumped into the unpressurized rail compartments
as the train roll across the Tibetan plateau.
All passengers suffer the hangover-like symptoms of altitude sickness: throbbing headaches and severe nausea. Every half-hour there is an announcement in Mandarin and English: “Because of the extra oxygen being pumped into the compartment, smoking is strictly forbidden. Pure oxygen can turn a spark into a fireball in no time”.
Ever since the Sky Train
had been operating it suffered its first passenger fatality, a
76-year-old Hong Kong tourist who suffered a heart attack brought on by
the altitude. However, It is not only because of its cost-efficiency but
also of the unique travel experience with ravishing landscape on
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, this China Tibet sky Train will take you to
reveal the secrets at heights and explore the amazing landscape all the
way to Tibet. The Chinese, it turns out, have ambitious rail plans for
Tibet. They also plan to build lines linking Lhasa with Shigatse and
Nyingchi, and another one connecting Shigatse and Yadong on the
China-Indian border. There is even talk of running a line to Zangmou on
the Nepal border.
