The Qinghai-Tibet Railway starts from Xining City, Qinghai Province, passing through Golmud City, Kunlun Mountain Pass, along the TuoTuo River, over the TangGuLa Pass, into the Tibet Autonomous Region, Ando, Nagchu, DangXiong, YangBaJing, Lhasa. The total length of 1956 kilometers, is an important route into Tibet, known as the heavenly road, is the world's highest altitude, the longest distance on the tundra plateau railroad, is one of China's four major projects of the new century, in September 2013 was selected as the "global centennial project", is the world's railroad construction history of a monument.

Economically, it boosts the local economy and strengthens the infrastructure for the development of western China. With the opening and operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Qaidam Basin, which is known as the "Treasure Basin", has been developed in a circular manner, and a number of comprehensive logistics parks such as Lhasa, Nagqu, and Golmud have been built and thrived, which has made the Tibetan Plateau a new tourist hotspot in the western part of China and driven the rapid development of hotels, catering, commerce, and tourism infrastructures. From 2006 to 2012, Qinghai's GDP grew from 64.1 billion yuan to 188.5 billion yuan, and Tibet's GDP grew from

34.2 billion yuan to 70.1 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of more than 10 percent.

Politically, it enhances national unity, consolidates the motherland's border defense and strengthens the central leadership.

Militarily, the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has greatly improved the logistical supply capacity of the Tibet Military Command. At present, the Tibet military sub-district's logistics supply, personnel transportation, etc. mainly rely on road transportation. The main route is through the Qinghai-Tibet highway, Sichuan-Tibet highway, and the new Tibet highway. Qinghai-Tibet Highway and Sichuan-Tibet Highway are the main transportation routes. There are many problems such as high risk factor, long distance, high altitude, high cost, and large period of time in road transportation, which bring many inconveniences to the logistic supply of Tibet military sub-district. The opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway will greatly reduce the cost of supply, improve the safety factor, make a large number of military materials can be deployed to the Tibet military sub-district in a short time, and greatly improve the logistic supply capacity of the Tibet military sub-district.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has pushed Tibet into the railroad era, closely linked Tibet with the mainland of the motherland in time and space, and boosted the economic development of the Qinghai-Tibet belt.