Local tribesmen of Medog earn more from tourist visits after the Medog Highway was opened. (Photo : www.tibettour.com)
The Medog County in Tibet, which has been deemed as the last roadless county in China, is now enjoying a sudden boom in its tourism industry after being linked to the mainland by a new highway.
County head Tashi told Xinhua News Agency at the annual Tibet Autonomous Region legislature meeting held on Jan. 21, Wednesday, that the Medog County's visitors have doubled last year compared to the figures recorded in 2013.
According to him, the well-preserved tropical scenery of the county had attracted about 96,000 tourists in 2014, a little more than a year after it opened its gates to the rest of China when the Medog Highway was built in Oct. 2013.
Proud of this achievement, Tashi had forecast a hefty 110,000 visitors for this year which, according to him, would be bringing in about 6 million yuan (nearly $1 million) to the county's revenue via ticket sales.
"The coming years will mark an explosive growth of tourism in Medog," he stated.
Medog, which means "flowers" in Tibetan language, has been deemed a "lotus sacred land" by Buddhists.
With an area of 34,000 square kilometers, it is located at the southern foot of the eastern Himalayas and is also known as the world's "database of fauna and flora genes" for containing a wide array of animal and plant species.
It also boasts the marvelous Namjagbarwa Peak and Gyalaperi Peak, the two highest peaks of the Himalayas.
According to a 2013 report from CCTV English, the Nyingchi Prefecture is constantly making efforts to further enhance its ecological environment after receiving about 290,000 tourists during the first half of 2013.
