| 1 | As for the billion people in-between the coast and the Tibetan plateau? | |
| 2 | The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the world's highest plateau, averaging over 4000 metres above sea level and covering an area of 200,000 square kilometres. | |
| 3 | Similarly there is more precipitation in the Tibetan plateau, probably because of climate change. | |
| 4 | This crucial line of transportation crosses the Tibetan Plateau, parts of which are barely below freezing. | |
| 5 | It is dug up on the Tibetan plateau, to the concern of environmentalists. |