Freedom Fighter Yaks

China’s Tibet railway isn’t the engineering marvel it’s cracked up to be. The Guardian’s Jonathan Watts details some of the serious problems the railway is experiencing after less than a month of service.

The safety of passengers on the world’s highest – and newest – railway is threatened by cracks, yaks and shifting sands, the Chinese government has admitted.

Less than a month after the opening of the line across the Himalayas to Tibet, it has become unstable in places because the foundations are sinking into the permafrost, railway ministry spokesman Wang Yongping, told the Beijing News today.
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The line depends on coolants to stop the ice upon which it rests from melting. But global warming has raised temperatures in the mountain region faster than expected. As well as damaging concrete pillars and bridges, it has added to the problem of sand dunes that encroach upon the track.

Tunnels were built under elevated sections so that the endangered Tibetan antelope could pass by without danger. But planners have failed to cope with a far less timid and more numerous beast – the yak, thousands of which graze along the tracks and wander across them.

“These form dangers to passengers on the train,” Mr Wang said.

Obviously it forms a danger for the yaks, too.

Previous reports from engineers and railroad experts predicted that China’s $4 billion railway would not last more than ten years before it would need a major technical refurbishment. Specifically the cooling systems designed to keep hundreds of miles of permafrost more permanently frozen require intense upkeep.

I was always quite skeptical of the usefulness of tunnels to divert animal traffic away from the railroad tracks. I’m sorry, but unless the Chinese have figured out a way to communicate with Tibetan antelopes and yaks, tunnels won’t be the lone means of crossing the line that bisects a massive swath of the Tibetan plateau. The tunnels are an example of wishful thinking of the highest order. Likewise the destructive nature of the train becomes even more clear as yaks lose access to grazing space and are forced to venture into dangerous positions.

The railway is an enormous intrusion into the lives of Tibetans. Nomads have been displaced, pastoral lands have been ripped up, and no one knows what the environmental impact of building a refrigerator that runs hundreds of miles under the ground will be. The fact that this project is immediately proving to be unsafe and unstable is no surprise. While I take no joy in reading that this railway is now posing dangers to the passengers themselves, I can’t help but think the Chinese government is simply reaping what it has sown.

Hat tip to Whatever It Is, I’m Against It.

Technorati Tags: China’s Tibet railway, Tibet, yaks

“Burning the animal skin revolution sparked in Tibet”

Under this awkward title, a recent Phayul.com article gives new insight into the recent phenomenon of masses of Tibetans in Amdo burning animal skins in response to a recent appeal from the Dalai Lama. At the Kalachakra intitiation in southern India in January, the Dalai Lama spoke pointedly, saying he was “ashamed” to see images of Tibetans decorating themselves with skins and furs. It has been estimated that nearly 10,000 Tibetans from Tibet journeyed to India for the Kalachakra. On the last day of the religious ceremony, the Dalai Lama spoke directly to Tibetans, saying “When you go back to your respective places, remember what I had said earlier and never use, sell, or buy wild animals, their products or derivatives.”

According to the Phayul “animal skin revolution” article, the public burnings began in north-eastern Amdo in a small town called Tsodruk where more than 250 fox skins were set ablaze. On February 9th, the 14th day of the Amdo New Year, more than ten thousand Tibetans gathered at the Kirti Monastery in Amdo for a mass burning of giant piles of animal pelts and skins, and garments made from them. Besides the recent exhortation from the Dalai Lama, the timing of the mass burnings is no coincidence. It’s Losar in Amdo, a time of the year when Tibetans gather with their families and communities, attend teachings at the monasteries, and say prayers and make resolutions in order to enter into the New Year with auspiciousness.

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