China has begun improving the road to Mount Everest on the Tibet side to make the trip easier for the Olympic torch relay, reports the Xinhua news agency.
The agency said the 150 million yuan construction project would turn a rough, 67-mile road stretching from the foot of the mountain to a base camp at 17,060 feet, into a paved “highway fenced by undulating guardrails”. Construction begins next week and will take four months.
According to the agency, when the highway is completed it will become the major route for tourists and mountaineers who are crowding onto Mount Everest in larger numbers.
