Other News Wild West rail link to open up trade, tourism
to Muslim outposts
SCMP
Tourists and settlers caught a glimpse of China's Wild
West this month when a recently completed railway
extension in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
opened.
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Tourists and settlers caught a glimpse of China's Wild
West this month when a recently completed railway
extension in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region opened.
On May 6, the public travelled on the first railway to link
the county of Turpan and the Muslim trading post of
Kashgar, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Until the line was extended, getting to and from
Kashgar, the largest city in southern Xinjiang, was a
tough task, often taking up to three days by bus from the
tiny, oasis-like outpost of Turpan on the Silk Road.
One of the key projects in the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the
975km extension continues westward from where the
original railway line stopped at Korla.
The Turpan-Korla link has been operational since 1984.
All the stations along the new route, which took 15,000
workers and six billion yuan (HK$5.6 billion) to build,
operate on solar energy because of the difficulty in
installing power lines in the harsh Taklimakan Desert.
The extension is expected to increase trade in a region
that had been virtually inaccessible but which produces
70 per cent of the cotton in Xinjiang and boasts reserves
of 20 billion tonnes of oil and gas.
The new line can carry up to 10 million tonnes of cargo
a year.
Linking nine new cities, all former Silk Road outposts, to
the mainland's vast network of railways, the extension
will significantly boost the region's economy.
The line will also encourage tourism to the primarily
Muslim cities.
Southern Xinjiang, an area of one million square km with
a population of 7.4 million, has been relatively isolated
from the rest of China, including northern Xinjiang, by
the harsh conditions.
Most of southern Xinjiang lies in the Tarim basin, which
has at its heart the Taklimakan Desert.
The new railway link is expected to attract a large
number of people eager to travel across and explore the
mainland's Wild West, which has seen an increase in
unrest by Uygur separatists who want to set up an
independent homeland.
Kashgar was the site of recent separatist protests, which
have been increasing across the province since 1996.
Where did you get this info from?
I would be interested in taking this railway as I was
planning to go to Kashgar in Sept. I was not looking
forward to the bus ride and am happy to hear that they now
have a train.
Do you have any info about train prices?
As well, do you consider Kashgar safe due to the civil
uprisings you mentioned??
I'd appreciate any info.
thanks
milana
Iwas there last year before the rail line was completed,
Kashgar was great, one of the finest cities in that part of
the world, Uighers great people, too bad about the rail line
the coming total assimilation by the great Chinese Borg.
Iwas there last year before the rail line was completed,
Kashgar was great, one of the finest cities in that part of
the world, Uighers great people, too bad about the rail line
the coming total assimilation by the great Chinese Borg.