New Foreign-managed Hotel to Open in Tibet

Sept. 2 – Beijing has approved the development of a new five star hotel in Tibet, the first to be developed there since the pull-out of the Lhasa Holiday Inn several years ago.

The hotel, to be built by listed company Tibetan Tourism, will be located in the remote town of Pai, in the beautiful Yarlung Tsangpo Valley, and is intended to be run by overseas management. The hotel is described as combining a conference center with a hotel and will be targeted at both domestic and international business users. The cost of the hotel is expected to run as high as US$14.7 million and will have 150 rooms. The construction and operations of the hotel are to be eco-friendly.

The Yarlung Tsangpo Valley is part of the Yarlung Gorge, one of the deepest in the world. The river flowing through the valley is called the Yarlung in Tibetan and is the highest in the world. The Yarlung crosses the border with India in Arunachal Pradesh to the south where it is known as the Brahmaputra. It subsequently flows on into Bangladesh and joins the Ganges to form the Sunderbans.

Dubbed the “Everest of Rivers” due to its turbulent waters and extreme conditions, the Yarlung Zangbo attracts a number of adventure tourists every year who engage in whitewater kayaking. From June to November, hikers are drawn to Pai, which is the traditional starting point of the long trek to Metok – the last county in China to remain inaccessible by car.