Xining, China – September 03, 2026 -- The Qinghai-Xizang Railway has moved 104 million passengers and more than 824 million tonnes of freight across its 1,956-kilometer route since opening 20 years ago, reshaping trade flows and industrial output on the Tibetan plateau.
Cold-chain rail link boosts herder incomes and potash exports
Xizang Gaerde Ecological Livestock Industry Development Co., Ltd. now uses railway cold-chain transport to move fresh milk from the Qiangtang grassland to markets nationwide, raising incomes for thousands of herder households. At Qarhan Salt Lake in Qinghai, potash fertilizer lines feed directly into rail terminals; more than four million tonnes of potash fertilizer moved by rail in 2025.
Cordyceps market handles over 10 billion RMB in annual trade
The Qinghai Jiuying Cordyceps Trading Market near Xining station now hosts more than 20,000 businesses with annual transaction volume exceeding 10 billion RMB. During the June peak trading season, the market processes over 5,000 railway express parcels daily. Trader Ma Ke, who has operated there for two decades, said herders previously needed days of driving to sell cordyceps but can now reach the market by train. Over the past 20 years, Xizang's GDP has grown more than ninefold, with Qinghai's economic output also surging.
Environmental corridor restores wildlife along 1,000-km stretch
China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd. built the country's first comprehensive environmental supervision system spanning an entire rail line, including wildlife bridges and passages plus alpine grassland restoration. An 1,000-kilometer-plus green corridor now runs along the Kunlun Mountains foothills, with nearly 8 million square meters of restored vegetation. The Tibetan antelope population in Xizang has risen to over 300,000, alongside steady increases in Tibetan wild donkeys, wild yaks and black-necked cranes.
Xining-Balkhan freight service opens new Central Asia trade route
On June 28, the first Xining-Balkhan cross-border freight train departed Shuangzhai station in Xining carrying 55 container cars, traveling 5,420 kilometers through China's Khorgos Port and Kazakhstan before reaching Turkmenistan in roughly 14 to 15 days. Since the first international freight service launched in 2016, Qinghai's freight trains now connect 16 cities across 10 countries. Xizang's 2025 foreign trade value reached 8.479 billion RMB, exceeding the 14th Five-Year Plan target of 6 billion RMB. Lhasa Customs official Dan Zeng said exports of combed pure wool yarn rose 80-fold year on year, wine exports rose 17-fold, and Tibetan incense exports doubled, while fragrant pork from Nyingchi, red wine from Shannan and natural drinking water from Ngari recorded their first-ever exports, with the water entering the South Asian market.