This is to let you that Tibet Tourism Bureau has informed us that all tours and all roads to Tibet will be closed in central Tibet for tourists due to 40 th anniversary celebration of the formation of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China from18 th August, 2005 – till - 5 th September, 2005.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at the Tibet People's Hall in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the regional people's congress.

Legqog, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress, recalled a series of changes taking place in Tibet over the past four decades.

He said, the peaceful liberation in 1959 liberated Tibet from the invasion and fetters of the imperialism and safeguarded the unification of the sovereignty of the state and the territorial integrity.

In 1959, Tibet carried out the democratic reform, rooting out the feudal serfdom and ushering in a new era during which local people became the masters of their own affairs.

In September, 1965, the first meeting of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress was convened and the Tibet Autonomous Region was established. These indicate that the people's democratic political power was established and the regional national autonomy was implemented in Tibet, said Legqog, adding that from then on, people in Tibetan have the rights to participate in and manage their own affairs and the state affairs and walked on to the road of socialism together with people of other parts of China.

Yang Chuantang, secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China, said that the establishment of the people's congress system in Tibet liberated serves and slaves, who made up more than 95 percent of Tibet's total population from enslavement of the local government, nobles and high-ranking monksin old Tibet and obtained a new life.

The establishment of the people's congress system realized the change of Tibet's social system from autarchy to democracy, Yang said.

Currently, Tibet has 35,161 deputies to the people's congress of various levels, of whom more than 70 percent are of Tibetan and other ethnic groups.

Legqog said, the eye-catching development in Tibet over the past four decades has shown that the people's congress system and regional national autonomy accord with the situation in Tibet and are welcomed by people of various groups in Tibet.

Qiangba Puncog, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, said the renovation of the square was part of the central Chinese government's efforts to protect Potala Palace, a world heritage site.

"The repaired plaza is a combination of modernity and Tibetan cultural features and is a multi-function square which can be used for purposes of rest-taking, recreation, cultural activities and get-togethers," said the leading regional official.

The project was completed late last month. The new square, covering 18 hectares, will be the main venue for the upcoming celebration of the 40th founding anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The project, costing 150 million yuan (about 18.5 million US dollars), includes brick-paving,building greenbelt, a musical fountain and installing broadcasting and power facilities. It started in late March.

The Potala Palace, located in the northwestern corner of Lhasa, was first built by Tibetan King Songtsa Gambo in the 7th century in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) , and expanded during the 17th century.

It features the essence of ancient Tibetan architectural art. It was added into the list of world cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994.

hasa railway station, a landmark building on the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, was
completed on Thursday.

The station is the terminal of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and is expected to be the largest transportation center of the line.

Located at Liuwu Township in Doilungdeqen County, the station is about 30 kilometers from the urban center of Lhasa at an elevation of 3,600 meters above the sea level.

The railway station showcases both the modern and traditional Tibetan architectural styles, and it will provide as many conveniences as possible to help passengers overcome altitude sickness, said Sun Yongfu, vice minister of Railways.

Designers reduced the distances for passengers to walk in and out of the station as much as possible and they also plan to build more elevators to help passengers avoid fatigue or sickness caused by the high altitude and thin oxygen.

Solar energy will be introduced in the station to reduce pollution, since the city enjoys more sunshine than most places in the world.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway extends 1,142 kilometers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, or the "roof of the world", linking Gelmud of Qinghai with Lhasa, Tibet's regional capital at an average altitude of 4,500 meters.

The central government of China decided to build the railway in 2001, allocating 26.2 billion yuan (3.1 billion US dollars) for the project. The line is scheduled to reach Lhasa this year and start trial operation in the second half of 2006.

Five-star hotel to build in Lhasa

A five-star Park Hyatt hotel will be built in Lhasa, capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region, according to an agreement signed by Lhasa government and the Hong Kong CITIC investment company.

In 2004, Tibet signed 313 investment contracts totaling 4.72 billion yuan in contractual terms. Of this amount, 1.566 billion yuan has actually been put in place. The investment has gone to ventures in tourism, agriculture, ecological improvement and development of Tibetan medicine, minerals and real estate.

Lhasa-Chengdu airline to start from August 20

From August 20 on, every day there will be one flight for Lhasa-Chengdu line, which is launched by Sichuan Branch of Air China with the passenger-plane A319.

At 10:17 am of August 16, after an hour and 40 minutes aviation, the first passenger-plane A319 was landing at Lhasa-Gonggar Airport after taking off from Chengdu International Airport at 8:30 am. At 16:47, the same plane flew back to Chengdu International Airport at 8:30 am. It indicated that the trial operation for Lhasa-Chengdu flight was successful.

With a total investment of 2,300 million yuan, Sichuan Branch of Air China has booked 6 A319 planes for Lhasa-Chengdu airline. After a face-lifting costing 60 million yuan, A319 is suitable for navigation on the high plateau.