Qomolangma museum under construction in Tibet

LHASA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A museum about Mount Qomolangma, also known as Everest, is under construction in Tingri County at the base of the mighty peak in Tibet.

Work started on Wednesday, International Museum Day, on an attraction that will cover 21,778 square meters, equivalent to three football fields.

A total of 41.8 million yuan (about 6.4 million U.S. dollars) will be spent on the project, said Dophun, head of Tingri's culture and broadcast bureau.

The five-storey main building will display fossils from the mountain, as well as animal and plant specimens. Visitors will also be able to learn about local folk culture.

Mount Qomolangma base camp received 1,116 visitors in the first quarter of 2016, up 45.1 percent year on year, according to Tingri's tourism bureau.