A highway that officially opened on Thursday links Medog county in the Tibet autonomous region to the rest of the country, ending the county's status as the only one in China inaccessible by road.
Experts said the road will help safeguard China's sovereignty and territory, as the county borders India, but more important, it will improve the lives and well-being of Medog's 10,000 people.
The 117-km highway connects Bomi county with the main town of Medog county, which is called "the elusive lotus" in Buddhist sutras.
The old path that linked Medog with the rest of China has been called the country's "most beautiful" yet also its "most dangerous", as it has unstable land formations and heavy rainfall.
The new road descends sharply from its starting point at the county border, 4,300 meters above sea level and covered by snow year-round, to the forest-surrounded county seat at an altitude of 1,300 meters.
Landslides and avalanches were prevalent in the past.
"Mountain peaks hide in the clouds while the foot of the mountain is close to a great river. You can hear people speaking, but need days to walk to them," according to a folk song that describes the rugged landscape.
The opening is the fifth time since the 1950s that the central and local governments have worked on the road.
The latest work, which began in 2009, received 950 million yuan ($156 million) from the State Council.
Lobsang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet autonomous region government, announced the official opening of the road 30 km from the Medog county seat at 11 am on Thursday.
The road is open eight months a year and will stay open year-round if weather conditions permit.
The road maintenance crew includes two teams of workers with three loaders and two patrol cars to clear rocks and snow.
Strategists said the road brings benefits in "not just one single aspect".
"Similar to the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the road reaching China's border area can help consolidate our remote land and ensure stability," said Sun Hongnian, of the Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"But more important, it will improve the 10,000 residents' lives, mobility and economy."
Local officials said the county did not have its own post office or electronic appliance store until 2009. Some business people attracted by favorable investment policies in the county scrapped their plans because they found Medog did not have business administration and taxation bureaus in 2011.
Even today, the county has yet to build a bus station.
Before the road was open, it took porters over a week to carry goods into or out of Medog.
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.
GRE数学基本概念
GRE数学考试正态分布考点题解
GRE数学正态分布题型归纳
GRE数学精选试题练习
新GRE数学:余数真题练习
新GRE数学考点之正态分布
英文版GRE数学考试重要考点(2)
GRE数学常用单词汇总:C
新GRE数学考试符号简介
GRE数学考试题型及其常见问题汇总
GRE数学常用单词汇总:A
GRE数学高分精髓
GRE数学解法之作图法
GRE数学考试如何应对歧义文字?
GRE备考答疑:GRE数学中谁是分母?
GRE数学策略:代入检验法
GRE数学数据充分性题目解题方法
GRE数学考试三大知识点详解
GRE数学考试算术练习题
GRE数学高频考点之Algebraic Fraction
14道关于圆的GRE数学练习题集合
解析GRE数学的复习要点:代数
GREQuantitative考试常用公式小结
如何彻底克服GRE数学粗心问题
GRE数学考试官方样题新变化解析
GRE数学考点解读:交集和并集
GRE数学考试几何试题
GRE数学考点之Coefficient
GRE数学重要知识点汇总
GRE数学考试就是与时间赛跑
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |