Airport staff in Tibet learn to handle harsh conditions
On a basketball court at Ali Kunsha Airport, which sits at an altitude of 4,274 meters above sea level, a group of young people wearing airport safety vests are sweating, yelling and breathing loudly. These young people who work at the fourth-highest airport in the world will represent the airport the following day in a regional basketball championship in Ngari prefecture, Tibet autonomous region.
"They simply like it," said Tan Tao, deputy chief at the Ngari station of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. "When you like something, you won't care whether you're on a plateau or not."
The fast development of Tibet's civil aviation industry demands more workers, but few people find working in Tibet attractive because of its harsh living environment - low oxygen levels, limited access to food and big temperature swings. For those who do stay, they find life more meaningful and diverse.
