周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

Right track to harmony
张威摄影 周黎明撰文
 
All passenger trains (1) run in the daytime the 1,142-km stretch from Golmud to Lhasa, which has been open for only a year. Clouds seem to be within reach, nature rolls on in eternal vastness and splendor, and a culture, once mysterious, comes into sharper relief with its ever-growing vivacity and resplendence.
 
In its enigmatic ways, nature is fair: From the Qarhan Salt Lake in Golmud (格尔木的察尔汗盐湖) to Lake Namtsoy (纳木错湖, 5) near Damxung (当雄), the roof of the world had been landlocked, providing only glimpses of its glory to the curious eye of an outsider. Even now, with the engineering triumph of the railway, with such marvels as the 690-m long and 54-m tall Sancha River Bridge (三岔河大桥, 2), nature has not been subverted. Gazelles (4) still roam the plateau, the snow-capped mountains are just as majestic, and the eco-system meticulously preserved. 

The only difference: A train ride is filled with more fun.

For thousands of years, ethnic Tibetans have built a magnificent culture on this lofty highland. Sure, trainloads of tourists and goods have brought in new influences, but they have also instilled a new pride in this unique culture, mystified and glorified in countless novels and movies. Old ladies still pray (7) , old gentlemen still play (6), but nowadays there are more people who appreciate them for what they do.

A land of mystique and majesty, a people of peace and tranquility - it could be recorded (3) or sung about, but for the best view, one needs to live it and love it. It can be haunting and purifying for life.

(China Daily 07/21/2007 page5)