The Railway that Reached the Top of the World

Jan 17 , 2020 |

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Modern engineering feats are central to the development of the US – from the Hoover Dam and Golden Gate Bridge to the Transcontinental Railroad built largely by Chinese immigrants. Similarly, in Tibet, 16,000 feet above sea level, rests the world’s highest railway station – just one stop on the 2,000 mile-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway that crosses plateaus and snakes through mountains. Its construction battled frozen soil, fragile ecology, and limited oxygen. But since opening in 2006, it has brought enormous economic growth through tourism to areas once cut off from the world. This is the story of how an elevated railway elevated China. 

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