Bridge Added to Railway at Tibetan Herder's Request

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, June 01, 2003

Bridge Added to Railway at Tibetan Herder's Request

Sumdar, an ordinary herder of the Tibetan ethnic group, is very proud that his proposal to build a bridge on the world's highest railway was adopted.

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Sumdar, an ordinary herder of the Tibetan ethnic group, is very proud that his proposal to build a bridge on the world's highest railway was adopted.

Sumdar said that he made the proposal to facilitate grazing for his cattle on a pasture near the Qinghai-Tibet Railway between Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, and Gormo of Qinghai Province.

Two years ago, when Sumdar and his countrymen learned that the railway would traverse their home of Tanggulashan township, they were overjoyed because "the days of traveling on foot or horsebackwould soon be over," Sumdar recalled.

However, while observing workers near a construction site one day last October and imagining making a pilgrimage to Lhasa by train, the herdsman said that he suddenly realized that the railway would block the access of herds to grazing lands.

Sumdar said he became worried at the prospect, but suddenly realized that a bridge would resolve the problem.

As a village official, Sumdar invited construction officials and workers to the village in February to celebrate the Spring Festival with the villagers. During their stay, Sumdar spoke with Ding Shouquan, the official in charge of the construction of the section near his home, proposing that a bridge be built to ensure access to grazing lands for the cattle.

Sun Yongfu, vice-minister of railways, upon hearing the proposal, ordered a feasibility study and solicited other opinionson the construction from Sumdar and his fellow villagers during the Spring Festival celebration.

Sun also stressed that the design and construction should not affect the lives and work of the residents, since the aim was to benefit them.

When the construction of the 32-meter bridge began on May 26, Sumdar and his fellow villagers went to the construction site with barley wine and hada, a white silk scarf regarded as a token of respect by Tibetans, to show their gratitude.

Actually, Sumdar said, he and his fellow villagers should be grateful for many other things, in addition to the change in the railway design.

The construction team decided to employ as many local young people as possible in the construction, which not only helped themfinancially, but provided them a lesson in basic construction skills.

Sumdar said the construction workers also helped solve his village's problem of obtaining clean drinking water by digging a well according to national sanitation standards.

Doctors on the construction team provided free medical service to local people, and they cured over 30 Tibetan people with serious diseases, Sumdar said.

Though the construction on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, dubbed the roof of the world, is onerous work, Kuang Chengming, an executive with the railway, says construction workers and officials have been asked to do whatever they can to help local people.

To Sumdar, the bridge currently under construction will look like a beautiful rainbow. He said that he often envisions his cattle roaming freely beneath the bridge while the train on the bridge passes overhead.

When the railway is completed, Sumdar said, he will organize horse races on the pasture as a farewell ceremony to construction workers and officials.

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