Western China - news and development

[艹艹艹]

Nyingchi Airport promotes Tibet's development in 10 years

2016-09-02 11:26:56 | From:China Tibet Online

As one of the most challenging airports to lift off from and land at in the world, Nyingchi Airport has been in operation since 2006. Planes have taken off and landed inside the twists and turns of the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley for 10 years, creating a legend in the former “no flight zone” of the plateau.

Nyingchi Airport is the third airport in the Tibet Autonomous Region, located 50 km away from theBayi District inNyingchi, it has an altitude of 2,949 meters.

Yang Chiwei, the vice mayor of Nyingchi, said that 10 years ago, residents depended on the highway to enter and leave Tibet. Because Nyingchi is 1,688 km away from Chengdu, capital city of SW China's Sichuan Province, a bus ride took at least three days and nights, and with difficult road conditions, there are many hidden dangers.

In order to improve the travel conditions for people traveling to and from Nyingchi, the regional government of Tibet invested 780 million yuan to build the airport in 2003.Gong Jiechang, manager of the operations department at Nyingchi Airport, said that at the narrowest point of the flight path at Nyingchi Airport, the plane has less than four km from the walls of the valley.

Given the plateau’s geography and severe, temperamental weather conditions, the Nyingchi Airport has the most complex flight environment, climate conditions, flight navigation planning, flight procedure set-up, as well as the most difficult take-offs/landings, and guarantee of on-time flights among all Chinese airports, it is also one of the most challenging airports in the world.

In the past 10 years, the airport had 20,589 safe flights, a passenger volume of 1,953,717 persons, and a freight volume of 7,333.5 tons. After the airport began operation, the number of tourists continued to rise every year. At the end of 2015, Nyingchi has had a total of 3.52 million visitors and a tourist income of 3.28billion yuan.Nyingchi Airport began renovations and expansions in 2014. It is estimated that by the end of October 2016, the entire construction project will be completed.

By 2020, Nyingchi Airport’s annual passenger volume will be able to reach 750 thousand persons and the annual freight volume to reach3,000 tons. Manager at Nyingchi Airport said that Tibet aims to build the airport into the second major transportation channel for access to Tibet next to the Lhasa Gonggar Airport.

In addition, highways and railway construction is also being expedited in Tibet. By the end of 2015, there are 78 thousand km of highways in operation, 300 km of which are Level 1 highways. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, launched in July 2006, is also greatly contributing to the expansion of Tibet’s economic and trading partnership with South Asian countries, deepen cultural exchanges, and making Tibet the key avenue in opening China toward South Asia.

 

[ahojunk]

contribution from @long_

Sichuan-Tibet power network benefits Tibetan people
2016-08-16 10:06:54 | From:China Tibet Online

The Tibet Chamdo Power Grid has transmitted 72.69million kilowatts of power per hour from the Sichuan-Tibet network towards the North China Power Grid, the largest transmission reaching 65,000 kilowatts.

The Sichuan-Tibet Network project was established and began operation in November 2014 with a total investment of 6.63 billion yuan, and includes a 1,521 kilometer and 500 kilovolt circuit and four transformer substations from the east in Xiangcheng County, Sichuan, through Bathang to Chamdo, Tibet. It not only solves Chamdo city’s seasonal power shortages and low network coverage for the area’s population, but also greatly improves the living conditions of the Tibetan people. It also opens up a surplus of power in the channel during high water level periods, as well as makes Chamdo an important base for continual transmission of energy resources from west to east.



Tibet implements alternative energy projects
2016-08-08 08:53:06 | From:China Tibet Online

Recently, Tibet’s first alternative energy project was put in operation, making substantial progress as a combined effort from both the government and private businesses. Tibet has achieved a breakthrough in alternative energy, become a new move in building a firm national ecological security barrier.

By the end of July, Tibet had already completed a total of 51.24 million kilowatts per hour in alternative energy, promoting 31 central heating electric boiler units, a power transformation capacity of 273,500 kilo-volt-amperes. According to the “Tibet’s "13th Five-Year Plan’ Alternative Energy Plan” appraised by the relevant departments and specialists, at the end of the “13th Five-Year Plan”, Tibet is expected to achieve 1 billion kilowatts per hour, which is equivalent to saving approximately 177,100 tons of standard coal, according to information provided by the National Grid Tibet Power Co., Ltd.

Industry experts say that now that Tibet is promoting alternative energy projects, it will be able to reduce pollution emissions, protecting the blue sky and clear waters of the plateau from the source, and ensuring a good ecological environment.

Liu Xiaoming, chairman of the board at the National Grid Tibet Power Co., Ltd. said, “An investment of 2.196 billion yuan into Tibet’s alternative energy projects is expected the ‘13th Five-Year Plan’, covering the main areas of construction, transportation, household, and other areas, including electric cookware, electric boilers, electric transportation, and other key projects. The next 10 years will be the fastest growing demand for energy resources in Tibet, and we should vigorously develop green energy sources (hydropower, solar power) to lead alternative energy technologies, establishing a system that utilizes smart energy grids and clean energy sources.

"During the construction of the Nyingchi Lulang International Tourism Town, we promoted the use of electric boilers, heat pumps, and heaters to create a model alternative energy town and model electrification village. In the future, Tibet will implement the national energy resources consumption revolution strategy, and in conditional nomad areas, promote the construction of hydropower and solar cell electric power system grid transmissions, improving the power grid coverage," Liu

 

[TaiShang]

China's Xinjiang upgrades over 5,000 km of rural roads this year
Xinhua, September 4, 2016

China's Xinjiang has spent 3.68 billion yuan to build and resurface 5,284 kilometers of rural roads so far this year.

China's Xinjiang Region, in northwestern China, spent 21.8 billion yuan (3.264 billion U.S. dollars) on 38,029 kilometers of country road in the last five years, benefiting 5.59 million residents, the regional transportation authority said.

Xinjiang will continue to increase investment in rural road construction, as a number of villages -- 60, at the end of last year -- were not connected to the road network, and 989 villages have poor roads.

Xinjiang is about the size of Alaska. Road construction is difficult and expensive in the region's mountainous southern part.

 

[ahojunk]

contribution from @long_


Numbers tell story: 10 Year Anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway
2016-07-04 09:47:59 | From:China Tibet Online

This July 1st is the 10 year anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The plateau railway, built at the world’s highest altitude, with the world’s longest distance, has achieved a record in railway construction. The people of Qinghai and Tibet call the railway “The Road to Paradise.”

For the anniversary, the reporter gathered data from the railway in 10 areas: economy, per capita income, ecology, tourism, and more, to showcase how the railway is not simply an economic corridor, a happiness corridor, but an ecological corridor.

As of the end of May,after ten years of operation, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has delivered a total of 115 million passengers and 448 million tons of freight. The passenger and freight transport volume each grew 15.3% and 6.6%, transporting a total of 18 million passengers in and out of Tibet; and moving 31.9 million tons of goods.

After the railway went into operation, the GDP in Tibet grew from 24.8 billion yuan to 102.6 billion yuan, maintaining an annual growth rate of 10%, whereas the GDP of Qinghai Province grew from 64.1 billion yuan to 241.7 billion yuan.

In 2015, Tibet welcomed a total of 20.1 million domestic and international tourists, with tourism revenue reaching 28.2 billion yuan, which is 11 times and 15 times more than before the railway. Also in 2015, Qinghai Province welcomed 23.1 million tourists from within China and abroad, earning 24.8 billion yuan in tourism revenue, which are 3.6 and 7.3 times more than before the railway.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has accelerated the prosperity of the Tibet people. As of the end of 2015, the per capita disposable income reached 8244 yuan for farmers and shepherds, 4 times more than before the railway; while the per capita disposable income for Tibet residents living in towns and cities increased to 25457 yuan, a three-fold increase.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has added 33 ecological channels for wild life. Since 2011, the wild animals have used the channels at a 100% rate, up from the initial usage rate of 56.6% in 2004, ensuring thriving wild life in Tibet.

Fifteen waste water treatment stations were added along the Lhasa portion of the railway, focusing on waste water treatment for Lhasa, Nagqu, Amdo, Tuotuo River, and other regions, producing water at a level-two drinking standard.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has set up 52 wind-monitoring stations along its route, transmitting information about strong winds in real-time to control stations via the internet. At Mt.Tanggulaand 32 other stations, there are automatic snow-melting equipment installed along track turnouts, ensuring the smooth operation of trains during severe weather. Control of transportation on the entire railway has achieved remote-access, information-based access, and smart access.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway uses multiple methods to prevent and control sand; currently, vegetation is planted on 708 km of the railway, creating a green miracle on the plateau.

The railway’s total length of 1142 km makes it the highest altitude and longest railway in the world built on a frozen plateau. There are 550 km of the railway at 4000 meters altitude, which was constructed through soil that was frozen solid for decades. The train travels as fast as 100 km/hr, achieving many world and industry records.

There are 72 contingency plans and 12 medical stations for operation on the railway. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company has created 75 emergency action plans for potential train accidents, natural disasters, traffic safety issues, public health issues, etc. There are medical stations available in 12 cars along the Golmud-Lhasa portion of the railway, as well as two medical professionals onboard every train entering Tibet.

 

[ahojunk]

Tibet (Xizang) pushes geothermal to solve power shortage

August 19, 2016

There’s a big push for green energy in the tiny autonomous region of Tibet.

The region is rich in resources, but it has a bigger power shortage problem than other parts of China.

CCTV’s Cheng Lei reports.

Tibet’s capital city, Lhasa is called the city of sun, because Tibet’s annual solar resources can power China for 100 years. And in hydropower and geothermal power resources, Tibet also ranks no.1 in China.

Renewables make up 43 percent of Tibet’s energy mix. That’s three times more clean energy than the rest of the country. In addition, the electricity generated by the Yangbajing geothermal plant is enough to power 50,000 Tibetan households.

Bian Dun, has seen 24 years of development, at China’s first and biggest geothermal plant. Geothermal diversifies Tibet’s energy mix. Tibet mainly has hydro power, so there’s a power shortage in winter. Geothermal is more stable, there’s no seasonal impact.

Tibet’s power challenges are manifold. The high altitude and difficult climate take a toll on power equipment and the people that run them.

Unlike in the rest of the country, Tibet’s residential power usage is a much bigger portion of the total than industrial usage, that means less tariff revenue for power plants.

Difficulties aside, the potential for geothermal power is enormous — China has 100 megawatts of installed capacity, that’s less than one sixth of Iceland’s capacity.

Because china is going big on geothermal power, private firms want to invest.

Developing energy has been welcomed by locals, because they’re the first to benefit.

The Tibetan government plans to double investments in generating capacity and grid construction over the next five years. More power without clouding, Tibet’s incredibly blue skies. The answer may be in the ground.

 

[ahojunk]

Economy in Tibet (Xizang) ploughs ahead thanks to farming, medicine

September 5, 2015

Eye on Tibet takes you to the “Roof of the World” to explore how life has changed in the region over the last couple of years. Among the biggest changes in Tibet has been its economy, which has become one of the fastest growing in China with a 12 percent increase last year. Reporter Martina Fuchs traveled to the Himalayan region, and discovered that much of credit is due to Tibet’s unique agriculture and traditional medicines.

More details:

• The Tibetan economy has traditionally been based on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, construction materials, and Tibetan medicine.
• Today, about 80 percent of Tibetans are still farmers or herders.
• The per capital disposable income of urban residents in the region was 22,026 yuan in 2014, up 8 percent year to year.

 

[ahojunk]

Tibet wages war against plateau parasite
Source: Xinhua 2016-08-23 18:46:51


LHASA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Medical workers from across China will carry out a survey in Tibet in an effort to control echinococcosis, also known as hydatid disease, a fatal parasitic tapeworm disease affecting China's herding communities.

A total of 920 doctors and medical workers, including 624 from Tibet and 296 from the rest of the country, will be sent to 364 villages in 70 counties and districts of Tibet by the end of this month, according to Li Bin, deputy director of the regional disease control and prevention center.

Some 72,800 people will be covered by the scheme. The field investigation will be finished within a month, and the investigators will spend two to three months creating an investigation report and treatment plan. "Hopefully the treatment can begin by the end of this year," Li said.

Hydatid disease mainly affects herding areas in China's Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet and Xinjiang. As of 2012, about 50 million lived in areas where the disease is prevalent. The government aims to control the disease by 2020.

Tibet started fighting the disease in 2007. From 2011 to 2015, more than 700 poor patients in the region received surgery.

 

[ahojunk]

Ordos welcomes wholesale businesses relocating from Beijing
2016-09-02 13:51 | Ecns.cn | Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- Ordos City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has become another destination for wholesale businesses that plan to relocate from the capital, Beijing Times reported.

Beijing has been transforming its development priorities, including relocating wholesale markets near the Beijing Zoo and building a new administration center for the municipal government in the eastern suburb, in order to focus on the city's position as capital.

The authority in Xicheng District signed a cooperation agreement with Dongsheng District of Ordos on Thursday morning, allowing the latter to join the ranks of Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Langfang, Yongqing and Baigou.

Under the agreement, the Dongsheng District government offers a series of preferential policies to businesses relocating from Beijing, including a five-year rent exemption for those who settle here before January 1, 2017; free rent on public apartments, local urban medical care and child education for both employers and employees; logistics subsidies as well as preferential tax policies and rebates for businesses.

Dongsheng District has favorable logistics conditions, with developed road and railway transport networks, while Ordos Airport operates routes to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as South Korea and Hong Kong, officials said.

Officials from Xicheng District visited five shopping malls and local logistics parks in the district before the deal was reached.

 

[Jlaw]

Chinese youths beating poverty through hard work
Xinhua Published: 2016/8/14 18:48:39

Chen Ze'en, 26, keeps bees in a small village in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for around a year. Photo: Xinhua


The career that Chen Ze'en, 26, had chosen to pursue not only changed his own life but also those residents of a remote village in one of the poorest parts of China.

Chen has been keeping bees in a small village in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for around a year.

This summer, the size of his swarm has increased to about 200 hives. He expects to harvest two tons of honey and sell it for 300,000 yuan ($45,000).

The village is home to a local species of bee that produces sweet, pure honey. But without proper technology and investment, the business was barely viable. Chen brought new beekeeping techniques and a modern business model to the area that villagers found "a bit strange but smart."

"The village has a very good natural environment, free of any industrial pollution. I am trying to highlight the clean and organic nature of our product," Chen said. He is now registering a company and brand name.

"I am also thinking of developing new honey products, for instance, honey wine," he said.

Chen's apiary has inspired villagers and he does not hesitate to share his knowledge. About 100 people now profit from the beekeeping business.

Having set the goal of raising the annual incomes of about 55 million of the country's poorest people to over 2,800 yuan by 2020, China values young people like Chen and has high expectations for what they can bring to remote villages.

For around a decade, college graduates have been hired to work as village officials on a large scale. These young officials are now a force to mobilize rural people themselves in the fight against poverty.

In Southwest China's Sichuan Province, a government program supports young officials' startup projects, including growing local specialties and selling farm produce online.

South China's Guangdong Province has focused on encouraging young people to stay at home. Agricultural technicians are invited to teach them the latest farming skills and financial assistance is given to new businesses.

Down to the countryside



A more traditional way for young people to help their less well-off fellow citizens is for college students to volunteer to teach in rural schools for a few years.

Li Xingjian attended Beijing's Renmin University of China and taught at a rural middle school in Sichuan in 2014 when he was a graduate student.

Many of Li's charges were "left-behind children," living with relatives, often their grandparents, while their parents work in cities. Among several hundred students, only a dozen or so went to institution each year and usually to small colleges with inadequate teaching resources.

"Compared with what I taught them, simply my being there was more helpful. I felt like a window through which they got a glimpse of an unknown outside world," he said.

Li's students found someone they could look up to. "One of my students wrote me an 18-page letter, telling me that I was the first person to praise him and give him a present in his 17 years of life. He said I gave him hope," Li said.

Although these programs aim to help needy people in rural areas, those who offer help benefit as well. Many volunteers were inspired by their experiences when choosing their careers.

Since 2012, Renmin University has sent about 1,000 students to villages for a short program every summer. Lu Xiaotong, from Central China's Hunan Province, took part twice.

"Before visiting the village in my home province, I thought that I knew rural China quite well," she said. Instead, the grinding poverty shocked her and she witnessed how one simple project, such as building a paved road, could change the lives of everyone.

"The experience gave me a sense of responsibility and motivation. I found myself pondering what I could do to actually help," Lu said.

that's the Chinese way. Hard work, dedication will reap benefits in the medium to long term.

 

[ahojunk]

that's the Chinese way. Hard work, dedication will reap benefits in the medium to long term.

Can I say it's not limited to the Chinese, it's more the Confucian way.

Countries that follow or heavily influenced by Confucian tradition are also in this category, i.e. Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.

I am sorry, but China don't have a monopoly on this one.

 

[TaiShang]

Can I say it's not limited to the Chinese, it's more the Confucian way.

Countries that follow or heavily influenced by Confucian tradition are also in this category, i.e. Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.

I am sorry, but China don't have a monopoly on this one.

I agree. China is the generator of the common culture. Over the course of history, the culture has spread in what is today called the Sino-sphere.

China has learned a lot from its Sino-sphere neighbors, as well (except, perhaps, Vietnam).

 

[ahojunk]

Tibetans' life opens foreign reporters' eyes
2016-09-02 08:51 | Xinhua | Editor: Mo Hong'e

A group of foreign reporters, who just concluded a week-long tour of a Tibetan-inhabited area in southwest China, have said they were amazed by the experience.

The reporters from Germany, Japan, the United States and Singapore, visited monasteries, schools and homes in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, from Aug. 22 to 28.

Deeply impressed by the daily lives of Tibetans and the local infrastructure, Yohei Tada with Japan's "Chemical Daily," said the visit completely changed his opinion of the area.

He had imagined a remote, inaccessible area with neither power or Internet.

"All the people we spoke to said they hoped their children would go to a good university one day. Not necessary leave and live in a bigger city, but learn something that would enrich their own community," said Lea Simone Deuber, a reporter with a German magazine.

"I was impressed to see how much the Tibetans preserve their own culture and at the same time are open to new developments," she said.

"In addition, I was impressed about how much people value education and how hard they work to ensure their children have access to opportunities," she added.

According to a teacher-turned-official of Hongyuan County, local Tibetans value education much more than before.

In the past, herdsmen underestimated the change that education could bring and so schooling was not important, said the official.

Now, however, all families send their children to school and many better-off families will send their offspring to schools in cities like Chengdu, the provincial capital, Mianyang or Dujiangyan, he said.

The foreigners were also impressed by tourism development. Many villagers have increased their income by opening their Tibetan-style houses to tourists as homestays.

"I think that developing tourism can help raise the living standards of herders while promoting their culture at the same time," said Koh Ji Min, a reporter with Singapore's Channel NewsAsia.

Sebastian Hesse, with German broadcaster ARD, said he would consider taking his family to visit Hongyuan, saying he thought it was an excellent place for a holiday.

 

[JSCh]

Xinhua Insight: Modern e-commerce shapes up in ancient city of Kashgar
Xinhua Finance in URUMQI
2016-09-07 08:24

Saphola Anayat's father used to make a living peddling vegetables off the back of a donkey cart in Kashgar.

Donkey carts are now a rare sight in the city in southern Xinjiang, they have been replaced by something a bit more 21st century -- computers.

"My father used to hawk vegetables from village to village. When business was good, he came back all smiles, laden with snacks and treats for the family, but more often than not, after trekking for miles and miles to sell his crops, he was too tired to talk when he came back," Saphola said.

Luckily for Saphola, 26, and his generation, commerce in the autonomous region is much easier nowadays. Following his graduation from college, Saphola attended a six month e-commerce course and scored a job at an e-commerce office in his hometown. He tracks the village harvest and coordinates with farmers to get their products from the field to the doorsteps of online-buyers.

He also helps his fellow villages, who are mostly computer illiterate, with other online errands, such as booking appointments with doctors.

"My father's generation hardly knew there was a market beyond the next village, but now, thanks to e-commerce, customers from all over China are on our doorstep," said Saphola.

Doing business across the vast region is no easy task, especially as it is naturally divided by large stretches of desert. The office where Saphola works helps farmers overcome these geographical barriers.

Saphola works for Kashgar Minsheng E-commerce Company, which has 43 offices across southern Xinjiang. The firm accepts orders from wholesalers and private buyers and then coordinates with the farmers to fulfil these orders, said Liu Chao, company owner.

Established in 2012, Minsheng is the biggest firm of its kind in the region and cooperates with 5,000 farmers in 18 counties and cities in southern Xinjiang.

Minsheng was not alone in identifying the gap in the market when online commerce first boomed, and the competition is fierce. Liu staked his success on cooperation -- identifying off-line resources, sharing wholesalers' storage space and logistics resources. It runs several websites, such as xjms365.com and Xianbaza, which are both open to wholesalers and buyers. Last year, it sold 37 million yuan (about 5.69 million U.S. dollars) of farm produce.

OLD, YOUNG FARMERS

Even before dawn brings another beautiful summer day to Kashgar, the city's biggest farmers' market, Kuklan, is filled to the rafters, and hundreds of anxious farmers vie to sell their fruit and vegetables.

Abdulaen, 57, gets up at 2 a.m. everyday to load his van with tomatoes and join the long queue to Kuklan market. He needs to sell all of these ripe, plump tomatoes before they turn bad in the summer heat.

"If I can't find a wholesaler, I have to dump them, so getting here early is very important," he said.

In the hustle and bustle of the market, some of the younger farmers seem more relaxed. Alimamat, 30, sells most of his cabbages and tomatoes to e-commerce companies. He owns six vegetable sheds and packs up the vegetables according to online orders. On a busy day, he can sell over 400 kilograms of tomatoes and 280 cabbages.

"The orders are reassuring, there are no big price fluctuations, and hardly any of my vegetables rot in the field," he said.

Alimamat makes at least 100,000 yuan (about 15,300 U.S. dollars) a year. E-commerce also employs a lot of women in southern Xinjiang, where, up until recently, it was the norm for girls to marry early and be housewives. Rutsangul started working with Saphola last year.

"I get 2,500 yuan a month, this is a good income for my family. The office is near my home so I can still care for my 5-year-old son," she said. "I have taught many women in my village to use a computer," she said.

FIGHTING POVERTY

Located south of the Taklimakan Desert, most counties in southern Xinjiang are underdeveloped, weighed down by poor infrastructure and low education level. In early 2016, Xinjiang had 2.61 million people in poverty, 83 percent of whom lived in southern Xinjiang. Xinjiang government made this area one of its top priorities in the anti-poverty battle before 2020. This year, the regional government will channel money into huge projects, including irrigation facilities and roads all across southern Xinjiang.

"Online commerce is not only reshaping the way people shop, but is also having a positive effect on modern agriculture and lives for people in southern Xinjiang," said Meng Yongsheng, deputy director of Economics College in Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics.

The government and the companies need to work together to support the industry and help the area to merge into the national endeavor to building a new Silk Road, he said.

In the next five years, Minsheng's Liu Chao wants to double the number of offices in southern Xinjiang.

 

[ahojunk]

Tourism helps alleviate poverty in Tibet
China Daily, September 13, 2016

Tibetan artists perform during the Third China Tibet International Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa on Sunday.
[Tibet Daily]​

Residents of the Tibet autonomous region have benefited over the past few years from tourism, which has enhanced the economy, an official with the local tourism authority said.

Thanks to efforts to stimulate tourism in Tibet, the region's economy has seen a rapid boom in recent years, said Shi Yuhui, deputy director of the region's tourism development commission, during the Third China Tibet International Tourism and Culture Expo, which kicked off on Saturday.

According to the region's 2016 government work report, the region received a record 20 million tourists from home and abroad in 2015, contributing 28 billion yuan ($3.72 billion) to the tourism industry－27.5 percent of the region's GDP.

In the past five years, 67 million tourists have visited Tibet, generating 87.5 billion yuan in revenue, according to the report.

The region's tourism industry experienced 23.4 percent average annual growth in visitors, it said.

"We largely improved our tourism infrastructure to face the rising number of tourists, and the boom also encouraged a large number of residents to participate in the tourism industry and benefit from it," Shi said.

Despite the achievements, he said, the quality of tourist services and management must be further improved.

Developing tourism will continue to speed up during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, the report said.

Shi applauded the growth in Tibet's tourism and said residents are becoming engaged in the tourism industry, because "they found that tourism can help them out of poverty".

Now, the poverty alleviation teams have crisscrossed Tibet, and the regional financial department has also funded poverty alleviation projects connected with tourism, he said.

In the meantime, tourism training has been extended to the region's counties and townships, aiming to meet the tourism industry's need for human resources, he said.

"Tourists can now enjoy better services and a wider variety of activities, including horseback riding, cultural entertainment and Tibetan family inns," he said.

For example, visitors will know more about Tibetan culture after they watch the live action operas of Prince Wencheng and Gyaltse Traces, he said, which also narrows the gap between tourists and Tibetans.

In addition, ethnic performances, cultural feasts and delicacies are good choices for people who travel to Tibet.

"Of course, they can shop for local specialties at the same time," he said.

The regional government has invested heavily in city construction, hoping to turn the region's capital, Lhasa, into a global tourism destination, and to turn Nyingchi into an ecological tourism city, he said.

Wei Hongtao, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, gave a keynote speech during a forum at the expo, suggesting that the regional government should provide its own tourism specialties to promote the local economy.

He called on the government to build more roads and parking lots, and to pay close attention to environmental and cultural protection.

 

[Nilgiri]

Tourism helps alleviate poverty in Tibet
China Daily, September 13, 2016

Tibetan artists perform during the Third China Tibet International Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa on Sunday. [Tibet Daily]


Residents of the China's Tibet autonomous region have benefited over the past few years from tourism, which has enhanced the economy, an official with the local tourism authority said.

Thanks to efforts to stimulate tourism in Tibet, the region's economy has seen a rapid boom in recent years, said Shi Yuhui, deputy director of the region's tourism development commission, during the Third China Tibet International Tourism and Culture Expo, which kicked off on Saturday.

According to the region's 2016 government work report, the region received a record 20 million tourists from home and abroad in 2015, contributing 28 billion yuan ($3.72 billion) to the tourism industry－27.5 percent of the region's GDP.

In the past five years, 67 million tourists have visited Tibet, generating 87.5 billion yuan in revenue, according to the report.

The region's tourism industry experienced 23.4 percent average annual growth in visitors, it said.

"We largely improved our tourism infrastructure to face the rising number of tourists, and the boom also encouraged a large number of residents to participate in the tourism industry and benefit from it," Shi said.

Despite the achievements, he said, the quality of tourist services and management must be further improved.

Developing tourism will continue to speed up during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, the report said.

Shi applauded the growth in Tibet's tourism and said residents are becoming engaged in the tourism industry, because "they found that tourism can help them out of poverty".

Now, the poverty alleviation teams have crisscrossed Tibet, and the regional financial department has also funded poverty alleviation projects connected with tourism, he said.

In the meantime, tourism training has been extended to the region's counties and townships, aiming to meet the tourism industry's need for human resources, he said.

"Tourists can now enjoy better services and a wider variety of activities, including horseback riding, cultural entertainment and Tibetan family inns," he said.

For example, visitors will know more about Tibetan culture after they watch the live action operas of Prince Wencheng and Gyaltse Traces, he said, which also narrows the gap between tourists and Tibetans.

In addition, ethnic performances, cultural feasts and delicacies are good choices for people who travel to Tibet.

"Of course, they can shop for local specialties at the same time," he said.

The regional government has invested heavily in city construction, hoping to turn the region's capital, Lhasa, into a global tourism destination, and to turn Nyingchi into an ecological tourism city, he said.

Wei Hongtao, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, gave a keynote speech during a forum at the expo, suggesting that the regional government should provide its own tourism specialties to promote the local economy.

He called on the government to build more roads and parking lots, and to pay close attention to environmental and cultural protection.

**

This would not have been achieved without China's current modest infrastructure development.

@Jlaw , @AndrewJin , @+4vsgorillas-Apebane , @Nilgiri , @Dungeness , et al.

Would love to visit Tibet one day. Have any of our Chinese members in this forum been there?