GOLMUD, Qinghai Province: The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest, begins operation on Saturday.

The first train will leave Golmud, the second largest city of Qinghai in Northwest China, for Lhasa, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in the morning.

The train leaves Golmud at about 2,800 metres above sea level, winds through the towering Tanggula Mountain Pass at 5,072 metres, and finally arrives in Lhasa at 3,650 metres.

A ceremony will be held at the Golmud Railway Station at about 9:30 am to see off the train, according to sources with the Ministry of Railways.

At least 1,000 journalists from home and abroad have come to Qinghai and Tibet to cover the event along the rail line.

People can witness the ceremony and the whole day's trip live on television, radio and news websites.

The first train from Golmud to Lhasa will carry governmental officials and reporters, not ordinary passengers.

But in the evening, passenger trains will run from three cities Beijing, Chengdu of Sichuan Province and Xining of Qinghai Province to Lhasa. The first train will leave Lhasa on Sunday morning.

Some 1,000 kilometres of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway's tracks are located at 4,000 metres above sea level.

The Tibet Autonomous Region's tourism administration estimated that an additional 3,000 to 4,000 tourists would arrive in Tibet daily once the Qinghai-Tibet Railway begins operation.

Local tourist destinations have taken measures to ensure precious cultural relics don't suffer from the increased numbers.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa will restrict the number of daily visitors to 1,800.

Liao Lisheng, an official with the Tibetan tourism administration, said that 960 out of the 1,800 tickets will be sold to travel agencies. Individual visitors can try their luck. But since reservations cannot be made, it is better to buy the tickets one day in advance.

词汇：
autonomous region：自治区
cover: vt.报道
witness：vt. 目击
relic：n. 遗物, 遗迹,
suffer from：v.忍受, 遭受
restrict：vt.限制
reservation：n.保留, 预定


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沿着这条雪域“长龙”，国内外游客可以看到“世界屋脊”的雪山、湖泊、大漠、戈壁、草原、河流等多种特有地形地貌，雄浑壮丽的雪域风光将给游人带来新奇别样的感受。