CHINA DAILY Thursday, September 7, 2017 CHINA 5 New roads drawing I want to be a fireman Tibet cities closer

ty to be connected with high- Construction can help protect region’s ways, opened to traffic in 2013. environment, transport official says All townships in Tibet are expected to be accessible by car before the end of this year. By HOU LIQIANG There is less traffic in Tibet in Gyaca, Tibet than in many other provincial [email protected] regions in China. So, rather than build expressways, Tibet devel- Gyaca county is only about FIVE YEARS ON oped many high-grade high- 300 kilometers from Lhasa, INFRASTRUCTURE ways — which are similar to Tibet. But a journey between expressways but much cheaper them once took more than a and with narrower emergency day. The mud road studded lanes. The total length of high- with rocks was a big headache grade highways increased six- — not to mention the road fold to 304 kilometers between winding around Kamba La 2012 and 2016, Chen said. Mountain, with cliffs above The huge investment and and below at an altitude of Once the improved traffic flow have around 5,000 meters. contributed a lot to the eco- “It wasn’t unusual to see transport nomic growth of Tibet. In the A young visitor meets a firefighter from the United States at the 17th International Fire Protection Equipment Technology Conference accidents when crossing the past five years, the region’s and Exposition in on Wednesday. The expo, which runs from Tuesday to Friday, has attracted more than 600 manufacturers from mountain. In my worst experi- barriers are GDP grew by an average 11 per- about 30 countries and regions. ZHANG WEI / CHINA DAILY ence, I spent 13 hours there. cent. It also outperformed all Even though I hadn’t eaten, I removed, there will other provincial regions in the didn’t feel hungry at all be more commer- first half of this year with year- because I had to concentrate on-year growth of 10.8 percent. on driving to avoid danger,” cial activities ... By 2020, Tibet’s highways said Tashi, 39, a Lhasa resident will reach 110,000 kilometers. 120 children poisoned; bad cakes blamed who has been driving for a liv- thus improving It will take less than three ing since 2005. hours for people to travel from By WANG JIAN in Nanchang boy, was among the sick chil- well as local food and drug With paved roads, the jour- local people’s Lhasa to four other major cit- [email protected] dren. His father, who declined authorities to investigate the ney now takes about six hours ies, Chen said. to give his name, said the boy incident. Parents suspected and is much safer and more livelihoods.” “Once transport barriers are Tainted food sickened 120 ate a cake on Tuesday after- the problem was tainted cakes comfortable, Tashi said. removed, there will be more children in three kindergar- noon at the kindergarten and from the same producer.

Improvements to the road Chen Chao, deputy head of commercial activities like logis- tens in Nanchang, started vomiting at around 5 “The kindergarten has from Lhasa to Gyaca mirror Tibet’s transport authority tics and tourism, thus improv- province, on Tuesday, and the pm before dinner. been buying cakes from a the change in the traffic condi- ing local people’s livelihoods.” cause — which some believe “More than 40 children in shop which they think are tions in almost all of the Tibet Tibet’s transport authority. Highways were not built at was cake — is under investi- my son’s kindergarten ate the very good,” Feng Shengzhe’s autonomous region, and more The investment in transpor- the expense of the environ- gation, the city’s education cake, and 10 began vomiting,” father said. “I really worry changes are coming with tation in Tibet has increased ment. In many areas in Tibet, authority said on Wednesday. the father said. about it, and I will take my increasing financial support by more than 40 percent each the construction of highways As of 11:30 pm Tuesday, 120 Lian Qinchen, another hos- son out of the kindergarten from the central government. year from 2012 and reached may actually help protect, children had been diagnosed pitalized 3-year-old boy, who when he recovers.” More than 4,200 kilometers more than 40 billion yuan rather than damage, the envi- with food poisoning at Jiang- came from another kinder- He added that the family will of highways have been built ($6.1 billion) in 2016. The ronment, he said. xi Provincial Children’s Hos- garten, also started vomiting Medical personnel at Jiangxi seek compensation from the each year since 2012, increas- number is expected to reach Without highways, drivers pital. Of those, 36 were at around 5 pm on Tuesday Provincial Children’s Hospital kindergarten, including medi- ing the current total mileage of 56 billion yuan this year, Chen often choose to drive on the hospitalized, 62 were held for after eating a cake at the kin- in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, cal fees and his loss of income highways in Tibet to more than said. smoothest places they can find observation and 22 who had dergarten, his mother said. treat a boy for food poisoning incurred by missing work. 82,000 kilometers, according The highway in Medog — even on grassland, which mild symptoms were sent By 4 pm Tuesday, no new on Wednesday. Lian’s mother said the kin- to Chen Chao, deputy head of county, the last Chinese coun- damages it, he said. home after treatment. cases had showed up, but 32 WANG JIAN / CHINA DAILY dergarten should increase its Symptoms included vomit- children remained hospital- awareness of food safety. ing, dizziness and abdominal ized for treatment, according The city’s health and educa- pain, but no fever. to a statement released by the tion departments said they Zhang Yi contributed to this Ecological investment soars Feng Shengzhe, a 3-year-old provincial health authorities. are working with the police as story. on plateau’s highway project

By HOU LIQIANG

Investment in ecological restoration and protection along a 96-kilometer stretch of the Lhasa-Nyingchi highway has hit 440 million yuan ($67.2 million), almost nine times the originally planned amount, an official said. While the construction company invested 170 million yuan, the majority of the work was outsourced to special environmental protection A 1,086-meter bridge near Nyingchi — part of the Lhasa-Nyingchi companies, according to Song highway — has been open to traffic since September 2015. Xiancai, head of the planning HOU LIQIANG / CHINA DAILY and contract section of Nying- chi prefecture in the Tibet they can adapt to the altitude fruit when it’s ready,” Zhao said. autonomous region. before heading to Lhasa’s even The government encour- The highway section, along thinner air. aged local people to work on with another 63 kilometers More than 28 local varieties the project, or to supply con- near Lhasa, opened to traffic of trees, covering 194 hectares, struction materials such as in September 2015 after 28 have been planted along the sand or stone. months of construction. highway, so that tourists can The total length of the four- All 15 camps for construction enjoy diverse plant species, lane Lhasa-Nyingchi highway workers, as well as all ground said Zhao Qing, a Nyingchi is 409 kilometers. Its total cost disturbed by stockpiles of con- forestry official. is estimated at 32.9 billion struction materials, along the Among the trees planted yuan. In addition to two tun- Nyingchi section have been were Paeonia ludlowii — liter- nels, all the other sections of restored and planted with ally translated as big yellow- the toll-free highway were grass and trees, Song said. flowered peony — and Tibetan completed in June. Nyingchi, which sits at an cypress, both of which are State- The finished project, which altitude of about 3,000 meters protected plants, he added. is expected to open to traffic in in southwestern Tibet, is the “We also took local people’s April, will shorten the journey first stop for many tourists to interests into consideration between Nyingchi and Lhasa the region. Many consider it a and planted a lot of fruit trees. to five hours from the current perfect transfer station where They will be able to pick the eight. Acting governor appointed in

By CHINA DAILY was moved to uty Party chief of city. as In 2007, she was named pub- Shen Yiqin, former deputy Party chief. licity chief of Guizhou and a Party chief of Guizhou province, Shen, 57, member of the Standing Com- was appointed vice-governor was born in mittee of the Guizhou Com- and acting governor of the Zhijin county, mittee of the CPC. She was southwestern province on Guizhou prov- named vice-governor in 2012 Wednesday. ince. She grad- and deputy Party chief in 2015. The decision was uated from Shen Yiqin Guizhou, one of the least-de- announced during a meeting Guizhou Uni- veloped provinces in China, of the 12th Standing Commit- versity in 1982. has been developing quickly in tee of the Guizhou provincial She majored in history. the last three years. GDP People’s Congress in Guiyang. A member of the Bai ethnic reached 1 trillion yuan ($153 The meeting also accepted the group, Shen had spent most of billion) in 2015 and has kept resignation of former gover- her career in Guizhou. growing since. nor . In December 2001, she was Shen is expected to be Sun was appointed as the named deputy Party chief of appointed governor by the ple- province’s Party chief in July. Qiannan prefecture in Guiz- nary session provincial Peo- His predecessor, Chen Miner, hou, and in 2003 became dep- ple’s Congress.