China's southern boomtown of Guangzhou will begin offering rail services to Lhasa following this month's opening of the historic railway to the Tibetan capital.

Guangzhou will join the cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xining in offering direct rail services to the "roof of the world", Xinhua news agency reported.

Service from the capital of Guangdong province will begin on October 1, China's national day, the report said, with the trek expected to take three days and two nights.

Ticket prices for the trip have not been announced.

The railway linking Lhasa to neighboring Qinghai province and the rest of China opened on July 1 amid much fanfare in China with the government describing it as an engineering miracle.

Climbing a peak of 5,072 meters (16,737 feet) above sea level along the Tibetan plateau, the line is the highest railway in the world.

The government also sees the rail line as an important tool in modernizing and developing Tibet, which has been part of China since Chinese troops "liberated" the region in 1950.

However critics argue the line will allow the national majority Han Chinese to flood in to Tibet, leading to the devastation of the local Tibetan culture, as well as accelerate environmental degradation of the pristine region.

Previously Han Chinese could only get to Tibet on slow, uncomfortable bus rides or on relatively expensive flights. Now, people can travel for 48 hours from Beijing to Lhasa on a train for under 50 dollars.

In related news, Xinhua reported Monday that Chinese insurance companies will begin offering travellers on the line an 88 yuan (11 dollar) altitude sickness policy.

The policy will pay out 10,000 yuan in hospital charges for those who fall sick from Tibet's high altitude.
 
Editor: Yan