Tibet Travel news!!!

LHASA, Oct.31,2008 (Xinhua) -- China's Tibet Autonomous Region will offer subsidies to herders who have to slaughter livestock as a result of a record-breaking snowstorm.
Gong Puguang, vice chairman of Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, said the measure was introduced to reduce losses to herders this month.
"Each household that has sold or slaughtered more than 17 percent of their herd will be given 100 yuan (about 14.3 U.S. dollars) for slaughtering an extra large livestock such as cattle or yak, or 20 yuan for a small one such as a sheep," said Gong, who is now in Lhunze, a county hard hit by the worst snowstorm on record in Tibet, to give guidance in relief efforts.
Gaisang Yangzom, chief of Maru village affairs committee in Lhunze, on Thursday led nine villagers to look for lost cattle andsheep.

A bulldozer cleans snow on the Sichuan-Tibet road in Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region Oct. 30, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Picture above is from China Xinhua.

Schools closed for safety after Tibet quake BEIJING (Reuters) - China closed schools in Tibet's capital for safety reasons on Tuesday a day after a huge earthquake struck to the west and months after hundreds of classrooms were flattened in a devastating quake in Sichuan.

The 6.6 magnitude Tibet earthquake, with an epicentre 80 km (50 miles) west of Lhasa, killed at least nine people, state media reported, revising down an earlier estimated death toll of at least 30.

Nearly 200 homes were "toppled".

Most of the victims were women, children and elderly people, as men were away "mowing and storing forage grass for the winter", Xinhua news agency quoted a villager as saying.

"All schools in Lhasa were closed due to safety concerns," Xinhua said, adding that a total of 188 tremors hit the region -- including one strong quake above magnitude 6 and one above 5.

The May 12 earthquake in the mountainous southwestern province of Sichuan killed at least 80,000 people and devastated whole towns.

But in many areas, school buildings collapsed, killing children and teachers in their classrooms, while surrounding houses remained standing, prompting accusations of shoddy building and corruption.

* May12,2008,2:18 pm, grade of 8.0 earthquake happenned in Wenchuan County, Sichuan, and it heavily infected wide area nearby, there are so many people who lost their lives, families, relatives, friends, houses. TibetCtrip will guide more and more guests to support and help the suvivors.

KLM launches scheduled service to Chengdu in China

KLM will be launching a scheduled service between Amsterdam and Chengdu in Central China effective May 28, 2006. The new roundtrip flight will be operated twice weekly.

AMSTELVEEN, January 24, 2006 – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch scheduled service between Amsterdam and Chengdu in central China effective May 28, 2006. The new roundtrip flight will operate twice weekly using a Boeing 777-200ER. The service is in cooperation with partner China Southern.

Shanghai strives for straight train to Lhasa

Shanghai Railway Bureau is striving for launching passenger train to Lhasa July 1 when Qinghai-Tibet Railway will launch its trial operation, sources from related department.

Preparations including ticket price, schedule, and trainman selection are under tense proceeding. The straight Shanghai-Lhasa trip will cost about 52 hours by train.

July 1 in 2006, Qinghai-Tibet Railway will launch its trial operation, announced by State Ministry of Railways. The first group of trains entering Tibet will be from Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai deployed by State Ministry of Railways.

Specials trains with a plateau oxygen supply system are equipped to guarantee smooth operation and passengers' safety in an extremely cold and anoxic environment.

In addition, passengers also can be served with comfortable dining-rooms and bathrooms.

Tibet for mountaineering in 2005
China Tibet Information Center, Oct. 15, 2004 - Sources from Tibet Mountaineering Association, Tibet will be busy with meeting mountaineering expeditions abroad in 2005 because there will be a series of mountaineering activities. It is said that next spring, Sino-Japan mountaineering team will scale the 8848.13-meter Mount Everest for celebrating 30th anniversary of succeeding in conquering Mount Everest by Female. According to the association, Tibet will go on organizing Mount Everest Protecting Activity not only for picking garbage, but also for conquering Mount Everest. Besides, Tibet Mountaineering Expedition will step on the 8068 m Gasherbrums I next year and till then, Tibet Mountaineering Expedition will be conquered all the 14 mountains which are over 8000 meters. And there will also be a mountaineering activity for climbing Sangdainkangsang peak which lies in the middle of Nyainqentanglha Mountains, at the seal level of 6,590 meters.