QHNEWS-- The State authority concerned gathered various expert opinions in order to develop an ecologically friendly railway.

    An appraisal meeting was held in Beijing, and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region set up a leading group, headed by Leqoi, the autonomous regional government chairman, to coordinate construction work.

    The most advanced technology available is being adopted to cope with ecological problems. It was recognized that the railway would cross three ecologically important zones the Gobi Desert, suffering from extremely low precipitation, the permafrost zone, and a zone with sound natural conditions.

     Experts designed to plant a protective forest belt in the desert area, with a view to protecting the railway from sand dunes, and strictly follow construction procedures to prevent destruction of the heat balance in the permafrost area.

    The railway is to pass through the source of three major rivers, as well as Changtang and other nature reserves. What has been uttermost in the minds of the railway designers and builders is how to mitigate any adverse effects on the subsistence of wildlife and wild plants.

    During construction, they have tried to bypass areas where wildlife and wild plants are concentrated.

    Special efforts were made to protect the source of the three rivers so as not to invite ecological calamities arising from the construction project.

    Wanton felling on the excuse of paving the way for the construction project was banned. Tree loss in forested areas is kept to the minimum and grass and trees have been planted in the Kunlunshan area, with good conditions.

Project Monitoring

    The railway is to extend 1,118 km. A section extending 960 km has an elevation of over 4,000 meters and teems with plants, grasses, water and wildlife; and a section stretching 550 km features permafrost.

    To cope with this situation, environmental experts were organized to form a group in Golmud City to study ways and means with regard to the protection of the environment.

    The construction units need to report on the progress and the construction schemes to the headquarters and organize training in permafrost theory and countermeasures for bid winners. Noted scholars in these fields were invited to lecture.

   Necessary tests were organized and those who flunked these tests were disqualified from participating in the work.

    ¡°We have full confidence in coping with permafrost and protecting the environment there,¡± said a specialist named Zhang. ¡°When the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is built, an ecological corridor will take shape.¡± 

An Old Activist

    Wudaoliang is notorious as the ¡°gate to the nether world¡±. In the construction site there, we met Zhang Xinli, head of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction Headquarters of the China No.3 Railway Bureau. Known as the number one old man in this headquarters, he is loved and respected by all workers and staff.

    As a matter of fact, Zhang is not that old. Aged 57, he has rich experience, which is shown in his sun-tanned face.

   ¡°The plateau is a pure land and we need to cherish it with might and main,¡± he said.

    According to Zhang, he was somewhat ignorant about the plateau environment when he first came. ¡°I did a lot of reading and consulted data to arm myself with knowledge,¡± he said, adding that he ¡°sold what he had purchased¡±.

     Zhang said he criticized those who failed to respond to his requirements with regard to construction of the railway. ¡°I do this mercilessly,¡± he said.

    In 2001, when the construction project first commenced, all the builders did their best to pursue progress and some drove their trucks over grassland.

    When Zhang found out about this situation, he flew into a rage and ordered them to go another way. At his suggestion, his headquarters decreed a fine of 2,000 Yuan meted out to those who violated the rule. This served to alert the builders to the importance of environmental protection.

    While strictly directing the construction of the railway project, Zhang proved good to his workers and staff, and that earned their high regard.

Plant Grassland on a Trial Basis

    According to Lu Chunfang, a leader with the Headquarters of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction, funding needed for protection of the environment of the railway totals 1.2 billion Yuan, a sum greater than any other similar project in Chinese history.

    In the Tutuhe River area, with an elevation of 4,500 meters, the slopes of the railway foundation, measuring 10 meters wide and 100 meters long, were planted with grass that has experienced the severe test of winter coldness.

   ¡°This constitutes one of the research projects of the Permafrost Area Plants Recovery and Test Base of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction Project,¡± explained Bao Liming, chief engineer of the No.1 Survey and Design Institute of the Railway Ministry.

   ¡°In 2003, efforts will be made to plant grass along the Gela section of the railway, which measures 3-10 meters wide and extends 1,110 km.

   ¡°As the railway is to be built in areas at an average elevation of over 4,000 meters and with an average temperature of below zero, that grass planted calls for special cultivation.

   ¡°We spent more than five months to select grass seeds, and the grass we planted has a survival rate of over 70 percent, far greater than the natural survival rate.

   ¡°We have put some 7 million Yuan into the test project. So long as it is successful, funds needed for the grass planting project will add up to over 600 million Yuan.

    ¡°In addition, the construction units will spend at least 300 million Yuan to remove the grassland in need and another 280 million Yuan to build some 30 thoroughfares for wildlife to pass.¡± Handicapped by cold weather, trees and grass grow slowly in Tibet.

    Once damaged, they can rarely be restored. This points up the need for protecting existing trees and grass.

    According to Lu, the builders do their best to bypass places covered by grass or trees when building the railway.

   ¡°We made efforts to select the construction site very carefully, with a view to protecting places covered with trees and grass,¡± Lu explained. ¡°In order not to exert adverse impact on plateau plants in the plateau, we gather clay and rocks in area with little grass and trees.

   ¡°In order not to cause pollution, we do our best to use solar energy and electricity.

   ¡°In order not to pollute waters in the construction area, we adopt most advanced drilling machines and waste water is treated to separate grease from water before discharging. Human waste is also treated before discharging.¡±

Hoh Xil Remains Beautiful

    Early in the morning, railway builders rise to gather garbage arising from construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

   ¡°They do this voluntarily,¡± explained Shui Jiaming, Party Secretary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction Headquarters of the China No.3 Railway Bureau.

   ¡°We attach importance to environmental protection, and all the builders have a high sense of environmental protection.¡±

    Construction of the Qingshui River Bridge takes place at the meeting point of the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve's buffer zone and core area.

    With an average elevation of over 4,600 meters, it is home to Tibetan antelope, wild yak and wild Tibetan donkey, as well as hundreds of rare plant species.

    Although the area produces good sand and stone, in urgent need for construction of the railway, the bureau refrains from taking raw materials locally for fear that their work would scare the animals and thus hamper the ecological balance.

    So, they set up a quarry in a barren area some 60 km away, a move that increases the transport fees by 20 Yuan per cubic meter of stone.

    Construction of the bridge calls for 1.2 million cubic meters of stones, and the transport fee will have to rise by 24 million Yuan.

    ¡°We hate to save money at the expense of the environment,¡± Shui said. ¡°The 48 most advanced drilling machines prove to be effective to conserve permafrost and the small noise hardly disturbs the wildlife nearby.  In addition, they do not produce mud paste, a bane for river waters.¡±

Stop Working for Tibetan Antelopes in Labor

     In June 2002, female Tibetan antelopes in Koh Xil traveled some 1,000 km to Zhonai and Taiyang Lakes to give birth.

    According to Shui, these Tibetan antelopes numbered some 30,000, a record number.

   ¡°In order to let these future mother antelopes pass our construction site without disturbance,¡± said Shui Jiaming, ¡°we shut down our machines and pulled down our sign boards and sign flags.

    We stopped working for four days to make way for them. In August, when these Tibetan antelopes returned with their children, we stopped working once again.¡±

    According to Shui, the builders do their best to reduce noise in areas close to nature reserves. ¡°We have also set up more than 30 passages for wildlife,¡± he added.

Guards Installed to Protect Wildlife

    All the builders show a love for Tibetan antelopes. For their protection, a Wildlife Protection Patrol Team has been organized.

     Led by Wu Zeman who is also Party Secretary of the No.7 Project of the China No.12 Railway Bureau, the team works to supervise builders to ensure they do not disturb wildlife and, at the same time, prevent others from illegally hunting them.

    When the Tibetan antelopes went through the construction site, the team kept a nightlong vigil to ensure no builders were working.

    In a morning of late June last year, a truck driver, named Li Siqing, found a wolf in hot pursuit of a young Tibetan antelope. He pressed his horn and the wolf was startled and fled.

    He took the young Tibetan antelope back to the construction site and fed him with yogurt. Understanding Li was his savior, the antelope licked his hands as a token of thanks.

    In the evening, when a group of Tibetan antelopes passed by the construction site, the youngster joined them and left. 

Grass Ground of the Railway

    A rumbling excavator working at the construction site by the Tutuhe River, with an elevation of 4,700 meters, shoveled a rug of grass up into the air for the two builders to hold it with both hands. Such rugs of grass were transported to settle at railway foundation slopes.

   ¡°In the plateau so high above sea level, plants are highly valued,¡± said a builder. For construction of the railway, the No.4 Project of the China No.1 Railway Bureau resettled some 30,000 square meters of grass in a mere month for the protection of railway foundations and the surrounding environment at large. The grass grows luxuriously today.

   ¡°Cultivating grass as carefully as cultivating crops¡± is what the builders are doing. To this end, they mix nutrients with soil for the new settlers.

    With a view to preserving the water content, the layer of soil is generally thicker than 40 cm for an area of over 1 square meter.

    In the No.4 Project area is dotted with round, square, rectangular and oval grass beds, with the largest being 6 square meters. A group of more than 10 people are charged with their care.

Protecting the Source of the Yangtze River

    Recent years have seen an increasing number of visitors to the Tutuhe River, the source of the Yangtze River, where a stone tablet bearing the name of the river, written by former President Jiang Zemin, stands.

    With so many visitors, the area often sees clouds of dust raised by motor vehicles, and heaps of garbage left.

    In order to clean the area, the China No.3 Railway Bureau's Qinghai-Tibet Railway Headquarters built a tourist route measuring 5 meters wide and 350 meters long in front of the memorial stone tablet; rails flank the route extending some 1,000 meters, and a parking lot and a 200 square meter garbage sink were also built.

    In addition, it installed a colorfully designed arch at the entrance, and posters inscribed with words in Chinese and English warning visitors against spitting and littering.  This proves effective in protecting the environment.

Protecting the Environment and Water

    A recent survey shows construction of the railway is not causing pollution to environment and river water. Instead, plants and wildlife receive due protection.

    According to Lu Chunfang, his headquarters has introduced an environmental protection system that proves effective.

   ¡°Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will combine protection of the environment and waters with construction,¡± Lu said. ¡°We adopt a method used to build river bridge piers without letting cement pollute the river water.

    In addition, we use phosphorous-free detergent and wastewater will be treated before being discharged.¡± Editem