China has announced plans to build the highest airport in the world, in Tibet. The Nagqu Dagring Airport will be located at altitude of 14,553ft. This new airport is expected to top Bamda Airport, another airport in Tibet located at 335ft.

The new airport, say Chinese officials, is part of a plan to encourage the area’s growth in transportation and other related industries, and eventually raise living standards.

Bamda Airport

There is general concern that the new airport will disrupt the area’s delicate ecosystem, being another way of threatening the Buddhist culture and their traditional way of life.

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is currently living with a self-declared government-in-exile in India.