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On Top of the World over ride (The Border Mail), 20th Oct 2007
Two Albury motorcyclists will begin to ride across the “Roof of the World” next week. Stewie Mclean 57, and Chris Abbot 45, will tackle the kingdom of Nepal and the plateau of Tibet on their classic 1950’s Royal Enfield 500cc single cylinder motorbikes. Mr. Mclean said the three-week, 2300 km trip was a rare way to combine adventure motorcycling with a rich cultural experience. “The people over there are really great and always smiling, “he said. By riding motorbikes we get to see the country the same way they see it. You’re in a new environment and you really get beyond the normal tourist trail.” Mr Mclean has a long association with the region after taking students on trips there since 1991 when he was a teacher at The Scots School, Albury. On one of those trips he met Nepalese rider Binod Chhetri who will act as the guide for the Albury pair and four others from Melbourne who will join them. The group will have their bikes blessed in the Hindu tradition to ensure good fortune and safe riding. Mr. Mclean said wild weather, rough tracks and crowded roads were issues but altitude sickness was the big worry. “We will be getting up to heights of 5000m for some time so the key is not to get altitude sickness.” he said. We’ll rest for a day when we reach 2900m to acclimatize.” The group will visit the north side Mount Everest base camp. Mr. Mclean has led motorcycle trips in the region before but this is the first time he will tackle the Tibetan plateau known as the Roof of the World. “Its may be the last chance to see Tibet before it all changes in time for the Chinese Olympics,” he said.

Lhasa Culture Attracting Tourists, 19th Oct 2007
Lhasa City authorities have claimed to have preserved and promoted their cultural heritage while making a quantum leap in developing the physical infrastructure f the city. Tsao Bian Jiang, Vice Mayor of the Lhasa City Government, said the central and the provincial governments have prioritized cultural aspects of the city and have directed officials concerned to take ethnicity, regionalism and locality into consideration while establishing urban infrastructure. The Tibetan authority said the provincial government aims to boost tourism through promotion of religion, culture, tradition. costumes and cultural heritage. “Recently, the City marked Suitan, an indigenous festival, which attracted 90,000 visitors,” he added. “The Tibetan autonomous Region (TAR) of China has developed a policy to make money out of its culture, history and tradition, which is possible only after preserving them. There are 1,700 holy site for pilgrimage and worship.” Nyema Tsering, TAR vice chairman said. Every day, some 2,000 tourists visit the Potala Palace, making it a landmark tourist destination in the TAR, Tsering said. Tibet is gaining popularity as a tourist destination among the domestic and the international tourists, and the credit goes to the Qinhai – Lhasa railway line. The railway constructed at the highest altitude on Earth has opened up avenues of opportunities for people from TAR to move to the mainland and engage in studies, jobs and cultural activities, Tsaobian said, adding. The number of tourists visiting Lhasa in the first seven months this year was 1.3m, and increase by 82 per cent as compared to the same duration last year, Tsaobian said. Of them 60,000 were foreign Tourists and rest domestic.

Lhasa – Shigatse railway line to ‘help’ South Asian growth, 30th September 2007
Nyema Tsering, Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAAR) of China, said that the expansion of the Qinghai – Lhasa railway line to Shigatse, a place near the Khasa border between Nepal, would help develop the whole South Asian region through increased trade and economic cooperation. Tsering, who is also the forign affairs head of the TAR, made this remark while talking to a delegation of visiting N epali journalist “We plan to complete the construction of the railway line within three years,” Nyema said. The Lhasa – Shigatse railway covering 250 Km is being constructed at an estimated cost of 10.8 billion Yuan. The completion of the railway would unite the TAR economically with the South Asian region, the TAR Vice Chairman, who looks after foreign affairs said. To a query on the “secret” behind the speedy development achieved by TAR in such a short time, Nyema said the people centred policies of the central government was the secret behind the TAR’s success in different fronts ranging from infrastructure development to tourism promotion. “Our head of the government Hu Jintao has come up with an effective policy to speed up development in Tibet and has developed a policy to invest Tibet’s annual earnings here itself”, Nyema said. The stress on economic development and equality has paid off good dividends, he said, adding TAR contributes only seven percent of the annual development budget, with 93 percent coming from the central government, he said. The policy of the central government to raise the living standard of the people of Tibet has lived up to the aspirations of the people here, he said. He said TAR had witnessed significant growth in the people’s income over the past year with the operation of the railway. The annual income of individual Tibetan farmers has gone up and stands at 2435 Yuan. The income of people living in TAR has gone up by 17.2 percent compared to last year, he said adding the annual average income of urbanities has gone up to 8,900 Yuan. He said that a lot had been achieved in the education sector also, Lat year the TAR government launched illiteracy eradication programme in 64 districts. The school enrollment rate last year was 96.5 percent he informed. There are 1700 holy sites for pilgrimage and worship, he said. He said that the principle of autonomous rule has been put into meaningful practice as 70 percent of the employees in the TAR government are natives from Tibet. In an apparent reference to the bilateral trade between TAR and Nepal, Vice Chairman Nyema said the trade between the two countries last year stood at US $ 170.6M, which is quite an achievement.

China’s Everest road plan draws experts’ flak, June 21st 2007
China’s plan to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest today drew sharp criticism form experts in Nepal and India. Country representative of WWF Nepal Anil Manandhar said in Kathmandu that China’s plan to construct the highway is the result of the country’s total disregard to the world’s tallest mountain and its environmental and cultural values. China’s state media on Wednesday said that the country plans to build a highway on the side of Mt Everest to pave way for the Olympic torch’s journey to the peak of the world’s tallest mountain. “China’s idea of reaching the mountain top by road is a foolish one and driven by a total disregard to world environment,’ Manandhar said. He added that road at the sacred and serene area would usher in human activities that will cause an irreparable damage to the atmosphere on the mountains, which is already suffering from pollution. “I cannot believe it. I don’t know whether it was a government policy or some enthusiastic development worker just wanted to see the world react to the idea.” Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, science and technology Khumraj Punjali said it is too early to comment on the plan. In New Delhi, experts and analysts voiced serious concern about the highway plan. They said the proposed road would invite pollution and result in the collapse of the eco – system. Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr SD Muni, said Nepal should worry more about the adverse effects the road would have on the country. Secretary of the Indian Mountaineering Federation PC Rautila said rara and endangered flora and fauna are already under threat in the fragile eco – system and the road would make matters worse. A senior official of India’s Centre for Policy Research said all countries should protest the move. Meanwhile, sources in the Indian capital said Chinese authorities in charge of the project are like to hold talks with Nepal on the Project.

China plans highway on Mt. Everest, June 19th 2007
China plans to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest to pave the way for the Olympic torch’s journey to the peak of the world’s tallest mountains, state media reported today. Xinhua News Agency said construction of the road, budgeted at 150 million yuan )$ 19.7 million) would turn a 108 –km rough path from the foot of the mountain to a base camp at 5,200 metres “into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails.” Xinhua said construction of the road would start next week and would take about four months to complete. The highway will become a major route for tourists and mountaineers it said. An official from the Secretariat of the Tibetan Government, who declined to give his name, confirmed the project was planned, but refused to give details. Tibet and Nepal are the most commonly used routes up the mountain. Taking the Olympic torch to the top of the mountain, seen by some as a way for Beijing to underscore it’s claims to Tibet, is expected to be one of the relay’s highlights. Mount Everest’s conqueror, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, 87, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. But a local climbing official praise the plan. “It is a good thing for the local development and the local people because more tourists and climbers will be attracted to the region, “said Zhang Mingxing, general secretary of the Tibetan Mountaineering Association. New Zealand double amputee Msrk Inglis, who scaled Everest last year, described the Chinese plan as “pretty ambitious”.

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