IV. Telecommunications

Telephones: 722,700 subscribers (2008)

V. Transportation

Railways:

The first phase of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was completed in the early 1980s and is now carrying both cargo and passengers. Running 846.9 kilometers from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai, in the east to Golmud in western Qinghai, the line is built at more than 3,000 meters above sea level on average, rising to 3,700 meters at its highs.

Highways:

Today, a 22,000-kilometer highway network radiating from Lhasa consisting of 15 main highways and 315 subsidiary roads has been formed. Most important are the Qinghai-Tibet Highway runs 2,122 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway covers 2,413 kilometers from Chengdu to Lhasa. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, from Yecheng to Gartok, runs for 1,179 kilometers. The Yunnan-Tibet Highway, from Xiaguan to Markam, is 315 kilometers long, while the Chinese section of the Sino-Nepalese Highway stretches 736 kilometers from Lhasa to Zhamu entry/exit port.

Airports:

The Lhasa Airport has scheduled fights to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The distance by air from Lhasa to Chengdu is more than 1,100 kilometres. Each year more than 100,000 passengers and 1,600 tons of goods fly this route. The Gonggar Airport outside Lhasa now allows access to large passenger aircraft like Boeing 767. The 250-million-yuan Banda Airport, the world's highest, was completed in September 1994.