美国国家公共电台 NPR Qinghai-Tibet Railway Benefits People in Tibet in Multiple Ways

 

Known as "the Roof of the World,"the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau used to be "inaccessible¹ to the outside world."

However, that was before the opening of the Railway.

Now, an increasing number of people, especially holiday makers², can explore this holy land.

Statistics released by the Tibetan government show that the autonomous³ region received more than 20-million visitors in 2015, 11 times more than before the railway started service.

Chen Youti, who works in the Education Bureau of Bange County, says the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has greatly shortened his travel time from inland China to Tibet and lowered the costs of his travels.

"You can't imagine how troublesome it was for me to come in and out of Tibet. It used to take me four days on the way from my hometown in Yunnan. After the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, I only have to make one transfer at Chengdu, which has shortened the travel time from nearly 90 hours to 60. "

The biggest beneficiaries of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway's opening have been local Tibetans.

60-year-old Tashi Tsering, travellng by train from Shigatse to Lhasa to fetch his paycheck, says the convenience the railway brings to his life is incredible.

"The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has brought us much convenience. Tibetans have benefited a lot from it, which was really out of my expectation. The train is safe, fast and cheap. I've traveled more than ten times from Shigatse to Lhasa since the rail line opened."

In addition, living expenses for people Tibet have also been lowered. Nagqu Logistics Centre head Jing Zhanjie attributes all this to the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, which he says has lowered the costs of transporting goods into Tibet.

"The completion and opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway makes the transportation of goods into Tibet much more convenient, which lowers the costs of people's living expenses, including rice, oil, flour and other foodstuffs⁴. "

Jing also added that compared with highway transport, rail freight transport can help reduce the price of building materials, including steel, cement and timber, noting that there are many new towns along the railway in Nagqu.

Figures released by the Tibetan government show that its GDP surged from 25 billion yuan, about 3.8 billion US dollars, in 2005 to over 100 billion yuan in 2015, with an annual growth rate of over 10-percent.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua reporting from Lhasa.

1 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

4 foodstuffs   

食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Imports of foodstuffs accounted for a small proportion of total imports. 食物进口仅占总进口额的一小部份。
• Many basic foodstuffs, such as bread and milk, are tax-free. 许多基本食物如牛奶和面包是免税的。