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Tibet to Reopen For Tourist On May 01, 2008
Last Updated on April 03, 2008
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Tibet will reopen to tourists from both home and abroad on May 1, the regionīs Bureau of Tourism announced on Thursday.
Zhanor, the bureauīs deputy director, said all travel agencies would be allowed to arrange tours, and independent travelers would also be welcome.
The regional government stopped issuing tourist permits to foreigner travelers on March 16 and the bureau recommended Chinese travel organizations postpone tour plans after the March 14 riot in Lhasa.
Zhang Qingli, secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China, said earlier that normal social order should be brought back as soon as possible to embrace for tourist arrivals during the International Labor Day holiday.
Tibetīs "open image and sound environment" would be presented to the visitors, the official said.
The riots erupted in the holy city on March 14. Rioters set fire to more than 300 locations, including shops, homes, banks, government offices, and smashed and burned 56 vehicles, mainly in downtown Lhasa.
In the wake of the outbreak of the riot, the regional government, which did not impose a ban on travelers to the region, "suggested travel agencies suspend organizing tourists to come to Tibet," said Wang Songping, deputy director of the regional tourism bureau.
In addition to safety concerns, Wang explained the decision as "Tourism facilities around scenic spots, such as the Jokhang temple, have suffered considerable damages in the riot, lowering the reception capability." Following the turmoil, the Tibetan regionīs foreign affairs office suspended issuing travel permits to foreigners, citing safety concerns.
Over the past few years, especially with the official operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in July 2006, the first railway to connect Tibet with the outside world, tourism has developed into a pillar industry in this northwest Chinaīs plateau region.
In the first two months of the year, the tourism business grew robustly in the region, greeting 110,000 tourists, including 6,000 from the overseas, up 60 percent year on year. The March figure has not been released, but March is never the tourism peak season for Tibet, local tourism officials said.
Tourists visiting the plateau city these days would find by chance they need not stand in a line for these hard-to-get tickets. On March 26, ten days after it was closed for security reasons over the riots, the Potala Palace was reopened to tourists.
In the first day, however, only 24 tourists and 75 Tibetan Buddhism followers stepped into the palace, which is on the world cultural heritage list.
Despite the shadow of the Lhasa riot over the hearts of tourists, the spectacular natural sceneries and unique cultural attractions of Tibet would always lure an ever-increasing number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, said Zhanuo, deputy director of the regional tourism bureau.
So far, 80 percent of the stores damaged in the riot have successively come back into operation. Except for those in the severely inflicted Barkhor Street and Ramoche Temple regions, all other leading shops, supermarkets and farm produce fairs have re-opened in Lhasa.
Tibet received 4 million tourists from both home and abroad in 2007, up 60 percent from 2006. The tourism revenue reached 4.8 billion yuan (677million U.S. dollars), accounting for more than 14 percent of the regionīs gross domestic product.
The remote southwestern region has seen a tourism boom in the past few years, especially since the Qinghai-Tibet railway began operation in July 2006. |
Chinese RAILROAD Link TO TIBET
ABOARD THE BEIJING-LHASA EXPRESS IN QINGHAI PROVINCE, China The country that brought you the Great Wall has completed another daunting engineering feat: a railway that carries passengers up the icy, Tibetan plateau to Lhasa , called "the roof of the world" because of its altitude. The Chinese government is leaving no doubt about who to credit for the world´s highest, and perhaps most controversial, railway.
"This is a magnificent feat by the Chinese people, and also a miracle in world railway history," President Hu Jintao said at a ceremony Saturday in the northwest city of Golmud . Once the end of the line, Golmud is the departure point for the first passenger train to Lhasa , Tibet ´s capital and holiest city, 12,000 feet above sea level in the Himalayas . The railway showed China ´s people were "ambitious, self-confident and capable of standing among the world´s advanced nations," Hu said.
The rail link binds the troublesome and remote region closer to the rest of China . Beijing has controlled Tibet since Chairman Mao Zedong sent troops there in 1950.
To counteract the thin air when the trains reach the highest altitudes, oxygen is pumped through the carriage ventilation. If needed, passengers can access additional oxygen from a socket under the seat. The highest point the train reaches is Tanggula Mountain Pass at 16,640 feet |
Scrapping of provision of special permit for Manaslu area sought
Tourism entrepreneurs say that the provision of special permit for the Manaslu area has hampered the promotion of tourism in the region.
According to a news report published in a daily, seven Village Development Committees situated in the northern part of Gorkha district have been included in the Manaslu Conservation Area for the last nine years. As home to many species of flora and fauna and Buddhist monasteries, the area offers scenic view for tourists. This is the area where Mt. Manaslu lies.
A foreign tourist has to pay US$ 75 per week for entering the area from December to August. He/she has to pay additional amount of US$ 15 during September to November. Besides, tourists have to pay Rs. 2000 as entrance fee to the Manaslu Conservation Area Project that looks after the management aspect of the area. |
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