"They can be resolved！" With manifold confidence， Fu Zhihuan said， "After nearly thirty years of study the foundations for implementing roadded of the Fenghuoshan Line， more than twelve million reliable pieces of data have been collected， and we can borrow from the experiences of managing and protecting the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and oil pipeline， and the railway division has further dispatched people to investigate the permafrost railways of Brazil， Canada and Russia， their understanding of the engineering facilities of the permafrost plateau areas is comparatively deep， in summary， to build a railway on the permafrost section is a comparatively feasible technological step. Like using rubble as the foundation for a road and using ventilation ducts in the foundation， preparing an insulation layer， substituting a bridge for a road and using thermal rod technology， it can be said that we have already basically solved the problem of building on the permafrost of the world's highest plateau. In respect of the delicate environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， we have a whole new understanding. In May of this year， Ministry of Railways sent Vice Minister Cai Qinghua to accompany the Chinese International Engineering Consulting Company chairman， Tu Yourui， in conducting an investigation into the initiation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway； after two months， our other Vice Minister， Sun Yongfu lead the related offices， the planning school， the First Survey and Design Institute， the director of the Lanzhou Railway Office once more ascended the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and conducted an on-site investigation， reaching a consensus： the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was in all aspects ready to go， immediately upon the command of the Central Committee."
Fu Zhihuan's report came to an end spontaneously， and all assembled broke out in applause.
"Very good！" Jiang Zemin lightly patted his armrest， saying， "The time has come to address this matter. Zhihuan， please give me a concise brief of what you said today as soon as possible！"
"I shall！" Fu Zhihuan relaxed his tone of voice， it was not a hot day， but his back was moist with sweat.
A thick curtain shut over the 15th meeting of the 5th Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee. Fu Zhihuan returned to the Ministry building， rapidly calling together the Party leadership group to a meeting room， and relaying the Great Secretary's comments during the discussion， delegating the task of immediately creating a draft précis about the Qinghai-Tibet rail to the Planning Department， a long repore was not necessary， and clear and concise language was called for， so that it could be given to the General Secretary as a report of the Ministry.
After reading the report， General Secretary Jiang Zemin extended his hand to pull a drawing pen from the pen pot， his characters were vigorous， and he wrote as many as several hundred characters of commentary： "The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is completely necessary， for developing transport， tourism， and extremely advantageous for propelling the economic and cultural exchange between the Tibetan region and the inland. We must resolve to begin construction as soon as possible， as this must be our great policy decision for a new century， and it will inevitably be heartening for the people in Tibet."
The comments of the General Secretary were very long， touching on such things as the governance of Tibet， its economics， military matters and even strategic aspects， as well as considering the geographical environment and climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， and subsequent haulage on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway， its management， its maintenance model， and suggestions for perfect contingency plans， and requested the related departments take research and evaluate proposals in many aspects， so that the Central Committee and State Council could make the correct strategic decision.
Falling softly with the pen of the party's General Secretary， at 10pm on November 10， 2000， history was solidified， and became the authorization letter for the commencement of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The Permafrostologist's Thousand Mile Chase into Tibet
From time to time， permafrost scholar Zhang Luxin raised his wrist to look at his watch—he was a little fidgety.
There still remained half an hour before lunch at noon， and in front of him， there were still several experts currently pleasantly addressing the vice minister， Sun Yongfu， and when it became his turn， he was afraid that there was not much time， and he could not wait again， after twenty years immersing himself in researching permafrost， accomplishing the whole task in one stroke， success or failure for him lay in this one moment， and the railway vice minister personally listened to the reports of the plateau permafrost scholars—for the first time in his memory. He knew the power of his words to influence， and to clarify the components of Sun Yongfu's policy decision making about the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
Zhang Luxin was from the Northwest School of the Lanzhou Railway Department Science Academy， (now China Rail Northwest Research Institute). At the end of July in 2000， he heard some news， that Vice Minister Sun Yongfu would lead an investigation group to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， to investigate the feasibility of a railway into Tibet， and his heart beat quickly， after twenty years of painstaking and laborious research into the permafrost of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， he was waiting for his final exit. That night， he returned home quite early， he never cooked， but tonight he cooked， and he gave a phonecall to his wife， Li Yufen， that tonight he would have to refuse all social invitations， and return home to eat. When his wife hurriedly returned home， seeing that the table was full of good food and wine， she was half excited and half puzzled， asking， "Luxin， is something special happening at our house tonight？"
