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[igotthisguitar]

TO TIBET ...

China Plans 'Most Luxurious Train In The World' (To Tibet): Report
Mon Mar 10, 10:57 AM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - China will launch "the most luxurious train in the world" to ply the route from Beijing to Tibet's capital Lhasa,
state media reported Sunday.



However, a ride on the train, which will begin operations on September 1, will be about 20 times more expensive than the ordinary fare of about 2,000 yuan (280 dollars), Xinhua news agency said.

"The interior of the train will be decorated according to the standards of a five-star hotel, making it the most luxurious train in the world," said Zhu Mingrui, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation.

"Such a train can only seat 96 passengers. The fare would be about 20 times the normal price and also much more than an airline ticket," he said.

There will be three trains, which will head from Beijing to Lhasa every eight days. The luxury journey will take five days.

Each train will have 12 passenger cars, two dining cars and a sightseeing car. Each passenger car will have four ten-square-metre (108-square-foot) suites featuring a double bed, a living room and bathing facilities.

The train line to the Himalayan "roof of the world" went into operation in July 2006.

Chinese authorities see the 1,142-kilometre (710-mile) railway as an important tool in modernising and developing Tibet, which has been part of China since its troops occupied the region in 1950.

However, critics say that the line is allowing the Han Chinese, the national majority, to flood into Tibet, leading to the devastation of the local culture as well accelerating environmental degradation of the region.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080310/lf_afp/lifestylechinatibetrail
;_ylt=Ak3bgCBeF8Tk1M5T4a56BCQDW7oF

[soviet_man]

The cost of building such a railway through permafrost and sheer mountains would carry a significant economic price tag.

So the concept of using a luxury train to help generate increased revenue is not something strictly offensive to communist ideas.

I would also dispute the cost of 2000 yuan ($280 US). I understand local Chinese are perfectly able to buy a coach seat on that train route for less than US $50 (for the entire 48 hour journey Beijing to Lhasa) so by western standards it is not outrageously priced.

[TexasPete]

Five days on a "5 Star" train service for $280 ain't too shabby. Too bad it's in China.

[jetrash]

the train passenger accom is pressurised due to the height of lhasa.
the track foundation FLOATS on the permafrost,not anchored.
the railway is designed to finally break tibet ,its culture,and to turn it into a disneyland.

i visited lhasa in 2002 when they were building the tracks /pillars to support them(flew in via chendu)
..its been a massive political and engineering operation to allow the Han to futher dominate and integrate fomerly remote tibet.
all revenue generated goes to china not tibet
one needs to consider the implication of using this service.

[stevemcgarrett]

igotthisguitar:

This should be nominated for Most Uninformed Thread of the Month and, no surprise, it comes from the Tamborine Man himself.

Let me set the facts straight:

China is no longer Communist, except in name only, and then only with the CCP. It's socialist and in many ways more capitalist than even the U.S. More accurately, it's authoritarian (re: Fascist Light). I know you can't believe that socialists can be fascists, being the duped Leftie that you evidently are. But there you have it.

This story was first reported in 2006. Not exactly breaking news.

There are two different trains running on this track. The cheaper one has regular service for the fare mentioned by another poster (one-way).

The luxury train will cost roughly 40,000 RMB to take and will have even more amenities than the Mandalay Line in Burma and Thailand, operated by an Anglo joint venture.

As for the crack from TexasPete, this line travels through some of the most pristine land on the Tibetan Plateau, at one point reaches 16,000 feet, and literally breaks ground where no train or other transport has gone before.

[TexasPete]

[stevemcgarrett]

Uh, Texas Pete:

Wrong again. While I sympathize with the plight of the Tibetans, fact is that the Han invasion didn't begin yesterday. Moreover, few if any are going to ride in on this train; it's too expensive. They go overland by bus from Sichuan or Yunnan, or fly in.

[TexasPete]

[igotthisguitar]

[igotthisguitar]

China Fires Tear Gas On Monks Protesting In Tibet
By Lindsay Beck and Benjamin Kang Lim
Wed Mar 12, 10:09 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese security personnel fired tear gas to try to disperse more than 600 monks taking part in a second day of rare street protests in Tibet, a source and Radio Free Asia said on Wednesday.



http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Dalai-Lama-New-Delhi-Beijing-Olympics/ss/events/wl/070705dalailama/s:/nm/china_tibet_dc

The Tibet demonstrations follow a string of marches around the world to commemorate the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule in the remote, mountainous region that has become a flashpoint for protesters ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

"The police were armed with electric prods. Other uniformed security forces had firearms," the source told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

"The monks chanted: 'Release our people'," the source said, quoting a witness. The group, from the Sera Monastery, also shouted "We want human rights and freedom," the source said.

On Monday, 300 monks defied authorities by staging a march in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, which a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman described as "an illegal activity that threatened social stability."

Chinese troops invaded Tibet in 1950 and nine years later the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled into exile after a failed revolt against Chinese rule.

Tibet has since become a point of contention between Chinese Communist leaders and those who advocate independence or greater autonomy for the region.

Radio Free Asia said the monks from the Sera Monastery were demanding the release of fellow monks detained for protesting a day earlier.

About a dozen monks from Sera were detained earlier this month for waving a Tibetan flag and shouting pro-independence slogans, the source said, adding that government officials said they had been rounded up for "very serious" crimes.

EVEREST
The pro-Tibet protests around the world in the last week and the demonstrations within the heavily policed region itself are precisely what China's Communist rulers are keen to avoid ahead of the Olympics in August.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told unwelcome critics to back off on Wednesday, accusing them of violating the Olympic Games charter keeping politics away from sports.

"More and more countries ... have recognized that this issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is not a religious or ethnic issue," Yang told a news conference.

On Wednesday, reports said China had closed the north face of Mount Everest to expeditions until after the Olympic torch ascends its peak in early May.

The Expedition Web portal www.mounteverest.net carried a notice on its site from the Mountaineering Association of Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China asking climbers to postpone their ascents until after May 10.

"Concern over heavy climbing activities, crowded climbing routes and increasing environmental pressures will cause potential safety problems in Qomalangma areas," said the notice, dated March 10. "We are not able to accept your expedition, so please postpone your climbing project until after May 10."

Everest, where five Americans unfurled "Free Tibet" banners last year, is known in China by its Tibetan name, Qomalangma.

India, whose hill station town of Dharamsala is home to Tibet's government-in-exile and the Dalai Lama, also saw a spurt of activity over the issue of who rules the Buddhist region.

In New Delhi, about 40 Tibetan nuns tried to storm the Chinese embassy, but were turned back and detained by Indian police, who briefly used water cannon on the protesters.

Around 500 Tibetan women also marched peacefully through the streets of Dharamsala ... activists said.

And around 100 marchers, including monks, nuns and young people born in exile, set off on the third day of their march from Dharamsala to Tibet, closely watched by Indian police and officials who hope to keep them within the district of Kangra.

"Countdown to Beijing Olympics" blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/china_tibet_dc;_ylt=AsrFfL4bllvMJwpfg_FQ_50DW7oF

[stevemcgarrett]

igotthisguitar:

We all realize you're a Thread Ho weaving your way into the fabric of every discussion, but try to stay on point.

The topic was the train, not Tibetan protests in Beijing. You're making a tenuous link at best. So if you want to go start yet another thread on Tibetan repression, fine, but stop the spamming.

[igotthisguitar]

[igotthisguitar]

Protests Turn Violent In Tibetan Capital
By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer

BEIJING - Protests led by Buddhist monks against Chinese rule in Tibet turned violent Friday, with shops and vehicles torched and gunshots echoing through the streets of the ancient capital, Lhasa. A radio report said two people had been killed.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7296134.stm

The European Union called on China to show restraint and Washington said Beijing needed to respect Tibetan culture. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, appealed to China not to use force against protesters.

The Dalai Lama called on the Chinese leadership to "address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence."

The largest demonstrations in nearly two decades against Beijing's 57-year-rule over Tibet began Monday, coming at a critically sensitive time for China as it attempts to portray a unified and prosperous nation ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

MORE ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080314/ap_on_re_as/china_tibet;_ylt=Ak_OZg8BCM0FAF2rhX1lXfW9F4l4