Special: Focus on Tibet
LHASA, Dec.14 (Xinhua) -- The grand canyon in
southern Tibet Autonomous Region is becoming a popular new attraction since
opening up to tourists for the first time in mid-July.
So far, more than 30,000 tourists have visited the
Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, said a source from Tibet Travels Co. Ltd..
The Yarlung Zangbo River is the highest major river
in the world. It runs through Tibet, India and Bangladesh. The grand canyon,
discovered in 1994 in the Himalayas, was formed by a horse-shoe bend in the
river where it flows around Mount Namjag Barwa.
The Yarlung Zanbo canyon averages 5,000 meters in
depth. The average width at the bottom of the canyon is 80- 200 meters while the
narrowest part is only 74 meters. It is considered the deepest in the world,
followed by the grand canyon in Colorado and Colia grand canyon in Peru.
The canyon provides passage for moist, warm air from
India which allows green tropical forests to grow inside it. The climate also
provides a good habitat for animals such as tigers, monkeys, snakes, antelopes
and wild boars.
The canyon also attracts whitewater kayakers.
Tibet Travels Co. Ltd started building up the tourist
industry to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in 2005. It has spent 363.3 million
yuan (about 53.63 million U.S. dollars) building infrastructure such as a cruise
service at Mainling, a black-top road, a tourist reception center and a dock.
Other new tourist accommodations will be added next
year, including a four-star hotel, a canteen, a hot spring facility, as well as
upgrades to the existing airport tarmac at Mainling, said a corporate source.
Wang Songping, deputy chief of the Tibet Autonomous
Regional Bureau of Tourism, is upbeat about tourism prospects around the Yarlung
Zangbo grand canyon.
"When the entire grand canyon development program is
finished by the year 2010, tourists will come in big hordes. They will be able
to view snow-capped mountains, trek in the canyon, enjoy hot springs and
canoeing," said Wang.
