The Qinghai-Tibet Railway line runs at an altitude of more than three thousand meters above sea level. For crew members working on the trains, it's a challenge both physically and mentally. CCTV reporter talks to a train conductor and shares with us the crew member's new decision after years of working on the train service.
It's a new journey to Lhasa. But for someone working on the train for three years, it's also the last one.
"Hello, everyone. I am here to give you my wedding candies. I am going to get married. As you do not have time to attend the ceremony, I will share with you the candies," said Yang Xiaomeng, train conductor of Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company.
Yang Xiaomeng will get married on July 9th, a day when her colleagues will be working on trains. She says it's hard to say goodbye.
"This may be my last time to work on the railway line to Lhasa. Because I am going to get married and plan to have a baby. Working here may affect my pregnancy. I will work on trains to east China," said Yang.
In three years, Yang has risen from an attendant to the conductor of the train.
The experience has taught her ways to better related to passengers. She says the railway line is in fact her home.
"The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is just like my home. For the past three years, I have never come back home to spend the Chinese New Year. I was either in Lhasa or on the train. I've already regarded it as my home," said Yang.
The high altitude has made it impossible for crew members to work continuously on site. They have to change shifts every two or three years to allow them to work in lower altitudes. And due to health problems caused by the altitude, some of them may never come back to this sky road.
"Our work is just like that. It's normal that you may work on trains to Beijing at one time, and travel to Shanghai at another. But you will miss very much the place where you have been worked. I am so reluctant to part with my colleagues," said Yang.
Yang Xiaomeng says as a woman, she prioritizes the role of family in her life.
But she says as the train service develops fast, more and more conductors are needed to work on high altitudes, and she may return back to the sky road someday in the future.
