Journey to Tibet

Stretching from Beijing to Lhasa in Tibet, the recently built Qinghai-Tibet Railway is now the world's highest. The railway line marks China's success in making the impossible possible, by building a railway line across 5,000 meter high mountain ranges and a 550km long frozen belt.

The railway line boasts high-tech engineering to stabilise tracks over permafrost and oxygen is pumped into cabins to help passengers cope with the high altitude. The train carriages also feature windows with ultra-violet filters to keep out the sun's rays.

China says the 1,140km (710-mile) line will bring major opportunities to a poor region. Chinese President Hu Jin Tao praised the completion of the landmark railway in a congratulatory letter, saying it was an "unprecedented triumph" in the history of railway construction.

By 2010, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will stretch further into Tibet, extending from Lhasa to Xigaze and Nyingchi, according to the Ministry of Railway.

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