A view from Tibet, the roof of the world (2)

Performers of drama Princess Wencheng help each other with makeup before going on stage. [Photo By Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

"I wish I could circle more. But I have to work and it takes me much time," she says, adding that older members of her family circle more often.

Tibet is home of many sacred sites including Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Ngari. For pilgrims, circling either site is a great honor and the fulfillment of a lifelong desire.

Tibet attracts people not only for its mystery and beauty but also for its development.

The local transport authority says that in 1950 the region had no paved roads, but by the end of last year, 75,000 kilometers of roads had been built.

A worker paints door frames at a monastery in Nagqu.[Photo By Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

Medog, the last county in China unconnected to the outside world by road, was linked to the national highway network in 2013.

In 2006, a railway was opened to link Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, with neighboring Qinghai province. The line was later extended as far as Xigaze, Tibet's second-largest city.

The region is mountainous, so building roads and railways is expensive. To compensate for this, airports were built in Lhasa, Qamdo, Nyingchi, Ngari and Xigaze, and nine airlines operate 310 flights a week to 38 cities.