Mountain raillink branded a threat to Tibet

Published on 01/07/2006 11:49

CHINA opened the world's highest railway on Saturday, celebrating the link with Tibet as a symbol harmony while critics denounced it as a threat to Tibet's culture and environment.

A proud but sombre President Hu Jintao waved farewell as the first train left Golmud, the outpost in the far-western province of Qinghai where the new 710-mile track to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, begins.

Trains reach altitudes of over 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) on the Tibetan plateau during the journey.