President Xi Pays a Visit to Tibet

President Xi Jinping paid an unexpected visit to Tibet on July 21-23 on the occasion of the return of Tibet in 1951 to China after the chaos of World War II and the civil war in China. He first visited the village of Nyingchi in the southeast, near the Indian border. In Nyingchi he went to the Nyang River bridge to inspect a project on ecological preservation, reiterating his belief that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” As transportation is critical to the economic development of the region, on July 22 he visited Nyingchi Railway Station to see the operation of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway section. Officially put into operation on June 25, the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is Tibet’s first electrified railway. Xi then took the new train 435 km to Lhasa.