Beijing : Lord Shiva's abode Mount Kailash and Mansarovar lake, revered by Hindus across the globe, can now be accessed by air as China on Thursday inaugurated a high- altitude airport in Tibet near the two holy places.
An Airbus 319 landed at Gunsa Airport in Ngari Prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Province at 10:20 am local time, marking the airport's formal opening, Chinese official media here reported, without referring to the two ancient holy places.
Mt Kailash and Mansarovar are situated in the Ngari Prefecture close to India and Nepal borders in the South.
The airport built at the cost of USD 242 billion by China is located at more than 4,200 meters above sea level and has a 4,500-metre runway. It is expected to handle 1.2 lakh passengers by 2020.
It is the fourth operational civil airport in Tibet after Gonggar, Lhasa and Bamda in Qamdo Prefecture and Nyingchi. A fifth airport called 'Peace Airport' in Xigaze is expected to be inaugurated in October.
The five airports together with the famed high-altitude Tibetan railway are expected to throw open Tibet, regarded as the 'roof of the world', to international tourism, including close access to Mount Everest from the Tibetan side.
China, which till now was cagy about opening Tibet for international tourists apprehending trouble by followers of the Dalai Lama, said recently that it plans to unveil a host of virgin scenic spots like the famed Brahmaputra Canyon to boost its international tourist arrivals.
The five airports joined by a vast road network built by China would link almost all holy and scenic spots of Tibet.At present, Indian tourists visit Mt Kailash and Mansrovar through Nepal after obtaining special pilgrim visas from China.
The airport at Gunsa may receive a lot of Indian tourists in future as the Sino-India relations have been on the upswing in the recent months, according to observers here.
The Chinese government is taking a group of international journalists to showcase its modern infrastructure in Tibet. Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said more international guests would be welcome to visit Tibet in future.
On the defence front, the vast modern infrastructure stretching up to the Indian borders in Arunachal Pradesh prompted India to begin improving infrastructure on its side as it provides tremendous logistic advantage to the Chinese defence forces to deploy their troops in a short notice. PTI
