During the ongoing national "two sessions", a proposal submitted by Losang Sherdun, a CPPCC member from western Tibet's Ngari Prefecture, highlighted how the locals in his region have expectations for a railway.

"Though a number of projects have consistently lead to a higher quality of life, where the people of Ngari lag behind is in transportation infrastructure, which has had an impact on the regional economic and social development," said Losang, a member of the national committee of the CPPCC and Vice Chairman of the regional CPPCC of Ngari Prefecture.

According to Losang, with the rapid development of tourism in Ngari and the progress of China's Western Development plans, passenger and freight volume in and out Ngari have been rising annually by an average of 45 percent.

But the major means of transportation in the region remains road transportation, with support from air transportation, which in itself is very limited and hinders the exports of locally produced goods.

As a result, Losang submitted a proposal to call for the further extension of the Southern Xinjiang Railway and Lhasa- Shigatse Railway to Ngari, which if accepted, is expected to provide a rare opportunity for Ngari.

Being "the roof of the world's roof", Ngari Prefecture in western Tibet sits at an elevation of more than 4,500 meters and is considered the "closest to the sky and sun".