Excitement and exhaustion
2006-07-04 15:13
Francois Bougon
Lhasa - The historic first train from Beijing to the "roof of the world" began with excitement but ended in exhaustion 48 hours later as many of the passengers arrived in Lhasa suffering altitude sickness.
The 800 passengers on the T-27 express disembarked at the train station in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Monday night after a 4 064km journey, reeling from the effects of a lack of oxygen in the Himalayan region.
Many of the 800 passengers, 150 of whom were journalists, had begun the trip - the first from Beijing to traverse the world's highest railway - playing cards, drinking beer and excitedly anticipating their journey.
Mysterious place
"This is a unique occasion. It's my first chance to go to Tibet," said 46-year-old property consultant Wen Ling, who was travelling with her sister on the cheapest tickets which cost just under $50.
Wen had flown from her home on the southern island of Hainan to Beijing to be on the historic first trip, saying she preferred to go by train into Tibet than plane so she could see the landscape of the Tibetan plateau up close.
Reng Fancheng, a policeman from Beijing who was also travelling on the cheapest seats with his family, said it too was his first time visiting Tibet.
"Tibet is a very mysterious place," Reng said, adding he would stay for just four days and that the Potala Palace, the famed winter home of the exiled Daila Lama, was the top destination on his must-see list.
Altitude sickness
But excitement gave way to fatigue, and then illness, for many passengers as the train continued its climb up the Tibetan plateau, even with the cabins being pressurised airplane-style to pump in more oxygen.
Altitude sickness began setting in for many on Monday afternoon as the train approached its highest point at the Tanggula pass, 5 072 metres above sea level.
At this point, nearly every passenger had at least tried out the oxygen tubes that accompany every seat and bed. The tubes are inserted into passengers' nostrils so they can breathe in extra oxygen.
Almost everyone spent the final hours of the journey sleeping, sipping water and trying to fend off the dreaded altitude sickness.
Instead of serving customers, a waitress in the dining car slept on a cardboard box with the two oxygen tubes up her nose. "She is tired," her boss said.
For others, symptoms of altitude sickness - like headaches and fits of vomiting - came upon them hours after their arrival in Lhasa, about 3 600 metres above sea level, as their bodies strove to acclimatise to the new environment.
Controversy over train line
The train line officially opened on Saturday amid much controversy, with opponents of China's rule of Tibet worried the railway will lead to a flood of ethnic majority Han Chinese into the region.
And while most of the passengers on board were indeed Han Chinese, among them were also investors from Canada and the United States who were researching plans to bring up-market tourists to Lhasa in luxury trains.
High-end tourists to Tibet
"We want to have the most luxurious train in the world," said Ben H Tsen, director of the Canadian firm Rail Partners.
Tsen said rich tourists would be willing to pay between $700 and $1 200 a day for a five-day trip to Tibet that would include six to eight stops along the way.
"We will bring from 10 000 to 20 000 high-end tourists to China per year," Tsen said.
'Good for China'
"I believe the project is good for China," Tsen said, as it would help the government's efforts to develop China's impoverished western regions by bringing in tourists.
However signs that the rail line is more controversial than the government and investors would care to admit was evident with groups of soldiers stationed every few kilometres for large sections of the railway.
China's rule over Tibet began in 1950 when troops from officially atheist China marched in to "liberate" the devoutly Buddhist people of the region.
- AFP