Tanggula Pass
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The Tanggula Pass (Traditional Chinese: 唐古拉山口; Simplified Chinese: 唐古拉山口; pinyin: Tánggǔlā Shānkǒu) in Tibet is a mountain pass that rises to over 5000 metres above sea level.
The Qinghai–Tibet Highway reaches its highest point of 5231 meters here. On August 24, 2005, rail track was laid through the Pass at 5072 meters for the Qingzang railway, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet railway, making the Tanggula Pass home to the highest railway in the world, surpassing the altitude of the highest Peruvian railway by 255 m (837 ft).[1] The railway connects Xining, Qinghai Province to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. The 1,080-kilometre (670-mile) section from Golmud to Lhasa was opened on July 1, 2006. The rail cars are pressurised in order to avoid altitude sickness.
The Tanggula railway station, at 5,068 m in elevation, is the world's highest, surpassing Cóndor station, at 4,786 m, on the Rio Mulatos-Potosí line, Bolivia, and La Galera station at 4,781 m in Peru.
[edit] References
- ^ Xinhua News Agency (August 24, 2005). New height of world's railway born in Tibet. Retrieved August 25, 2005.
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