Chinese Monumental Railway

BEIJING - The first train service to Tibet opened Saturday on the world's highest railway, an engineering feat protesters say could threaten the restive Himalayan region's environment and Buddhist culture. The railway passes spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, touching altitudes of 5,000 meters (16,400 feet). Lhasa, which leaves many visitors gasping for breath,lies at 3,650 meters (11,976 feet).

The 710-mile rail line crosses mountain passes up to 16,500 feet high an large stretches of ground that is frozen year-round. Specially designed train cars have oxygen supplies to help passengers cope with the thin air and window filters to protect them from ultraviolet rays, while high-tech cooling systems
keep the railbed frozen and stable.

But activists complain the railway will bring an influx of Chinese migrants, damaging Tibet's fragile ecology and diluting its unique Buddhist society. They say most of its economic benefits will go to migrants from the east.

These are some great pictures - Slideshow

The first Train out of the station was named "Qing I", and refers to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), whose leaders came from Northeast China, in the area known as Manchuria, were considered Foreign Rulers. However, by the end of the dynasty the Qing rulers had heavily adopted Chinese ways, a process known as Sinification. Although there were always some among the Han Chinese scholars and officials who would never surrender to the foreign Manchus, the Qing dynasty brought stability and prosperity to China.

Which brings us to the question of, in America, "who built our trains, railroads, highways and bridges"? You can thank our Westpoint graduates for their engineering skills that began the railroad in America in 1880. They also engineered our highway and bridges. I always thought that Westpoint only put out
Military leaders. Without these brilliant engineers we would not have the transportation system of today. To read more on the history of Westpoint
go here: