Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China has seen a resurgence in tourism this year, with both tourist trains and passengers bound to the region reaching a five-year high, according to official data.
As of early June, 20 special tourist trains had carried over 8,000 visitors to Xizang this year, according to the China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group.
Since 2020, over 170 tourist trains have been arranged, carrying more than 50,700 passengers. Of these, 61 trains are inbound to Xizang, while 109 depart from the region.
One of them, running from Xining, the provincial capital of Qinghai in northwest China, to Nyingchi City of Xizang, has been particularly popular. Since its launch in March this year, 14 tourist trains have run on this line, attracting tourists from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang, as well as international visitors.
The growing number of tourist trains is expected to bring a steady flow of visitors, injecting vitality into the economies of regions along the railway lines.
Xizang tourism rebounds with record number of tourist trains
President Vladimir Putin said at a briefing on Saturday that Russian forces had taken control of Hulyaipole, the second largest city in southeast Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.
According to the briefing, Russian troops also controlled Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region and captured Dimitrov (known as Myrnohrad in Ukraine), Rodynske, and Artyomovka in the Donetsk region.
Putin said the takeover of Hulyaipole creates favorable conditions for Russian forces to continue their advance deeper into the Zaporizhzhia region while the capture of Dimitrov was a significant step towards the full seizure of the entire Donetsk region.
The Russian president said the Russian army is fully capable of resolving the issue militarily.
He also said that Russia is trying to end the conflict, but Ukraine is not in a hurry to resolve the conflict peacefully although the West has advised Ukraine to accept a solution.
Ukraine has not yet responded to Russia's statement.
Hulyaipole is located in a strategically important area in southeastern Ukraine, 98 kilometers from the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia.
Russia claims control of Zaporizhzhia's second largest city
