The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company transported 80 million metric tons of goods last year, including 5.6 million tons to the Tibet autonomous region, the company said on Jan 11. Goods transported last year included fertilizer, salt, coal, metallic ore, petroleum and chemical products. Of them, the volume of ore saw a year-on-year increase of 22 percent, while chemical products increased 16.7 percent year-on-year.

Linking Xining in Qinghai province and Lhasa in the Tibet autonomous region, the railway — 1,956 kilometers long — is the first on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It has served as an important driving force for economic development in Tibet since it opened in July 2006, said Hui Xiaorong, an official from the company.

The line handles more than freight. As of June, it had transported about 260 million passengers since opening. "Passenger volume has increased from around 6.48 million in 2006 to over 18 million in 2021," Hui said.

Many residents living alongside the line have received benefits. Travel became more convenient and job opportunities have been created. Ma Xiuying, a resident of Haidong county in Qinghai, said the opening of the line was a big jump for the development of Qinghai and Tibet, with easier and safer travel.

"When I was a young girl, my neighbors would go by truck on religious visits to Lhasa. A single trip would take a week, 10 days or more," Ma said, adding that it was an adventure because the journey was exhausting and full of danger.

"I work in Lhasa, so I always travel by train to Qinghai. The trip only takes about 21 hours, and I don't feel tired," she said. "The opening of the line has reduced the distance between the people of the Tibet autonomous region and those outside, and I believe the region will become more prosperous in the future."

The railway company has a new train and truck freight route connecting Shigatse in Tibet with Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, Hui Xiaorong said. Starting in June 2021, the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway became an operational section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which is still under construction.