Western China - news and development

[TaiShang]

Tibet to open world's highest super-long tunnel
By Palden Nyima and Daqiong in Lhasa | China Daily | Updated: 2017-03-07


The Mila Mount Tunnel on the Lhasa-Nyingchi Highway is expected to be opened in September, when it will become the world's highest super-long tunnel.

The tunnel is located at the junction of Lhasa and Nyingchi in the Tibet autonomous region at an average altitude of 4,740 meters above sea level, according to the Mila Mount Tunnel Project Headquarters.

As a key section of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Highway on the National Highway 318, the two lanes of the tunnel are 5,727 meters and 5,720 meters long respectively, according to the project headquarters.

Construction of the tunnel started in April 2015, and the project is about 70 percent complete to date, it said, adding that, hampered by the natural environment at high attitude, the construction process has encountered many obstacles.

"With a lack of oxygen and temperature lows of - 30 Celsius in winter, we require highly skilled workers," said Wang Liang, chief engineer of the project headquarters.

Wang said many workers suffered from attitude sickness during the tunnel's construction, and that much time and effort has been spent on recruiting qualified workers.

In order to overcome such difficulties, there are 15 oxygenators, an oxygen tank and five boilers on the project site, he added.

After it opens, traveling time between the cities of Lhasa and Nyingchi will be halved, Wang said.

"Driving from Lhasa to Nyingchi will take just three to four hours instead of about eight, and it will be much safer," Wang said.

"It will also have a positive impact on the social and economic development of these places, and it will make life much more convenient for local ethnic groups."

***

China speed.

 

[JSCh]

Feature: Harsh life and bright horizons in China's highest township
Source: Xinhua 2017-03-13 20:51:18

LHASA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- After just three years in Pumaqangtang, China's highest township, Kelzang Chola has already developed signs of aging -- severe memory deterioration, hair and weight loss.

As party secretary in a township where the average life expectancy is less than 50 years, the 35-year-old always feels a sense of crisis.

"I dare not slack off at work. I know if I slow down, someone might never have the chance to enjoy a better life," Kelzang Chola said.

ROUGH CONDITIONS

Altitudes above 5,000 meters are considered highly unsuitable for humans, with severe effects on health. Pumaqangtang in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, at 5,373 meters above sea level, is one such place.

Residents must contend with strong winds, biting cold and lower oxygen levels. Most people die before getting old.

"Strong wind can knock down telephone poles and even blow away the front door of our police station. On one occasion, we experienced a week-long power blackout," said Chen Kemin, political instructor at a border police station in Pumaqangtang.

With an average temperature of minus seven degrees Celsius, washing machines can only operate if they are warmed up with hot water for more than half an hour. People have to cover up with at least two quilts even on summer nights.

The lack of oxygen is the most challenging thing. People's lips appear blue because the amount of oxygen in the air is around 40 percent of that at sea level.

"Burning consumes the scarce oxygen, so we would rather cover up with more quilts to keep warm at night than burn a stove in the room," said border soldier Zhu Xing.

"I can even get short of breath sitting still," Zhu added.

The highlands can turn any minor illness into a major health threat.

"It is hard to recover from a cough by simply taking pills," said Sonam Norbu, who was on an antibiotic drip at a local clinic. Sonam Norbu married a local woman and moved here from Xigaze, Tibet's second-largest city.

Phurbu Dondrup, 23, is also a newcomer. Last year, he became an accountant in the township government after graduating from Jilin University in northeast China's Jilin Province, around 5,000 kilometers away.

"How can you endure the hardships of such a place? You can find a good job anywhere in China," his friends asked him.

But Phurbu Dondrup has never regretted his choice.

"I think young people should taste bitterness and endure hardships. That way, they will appreciate the better times and feel calm in the face of adversity," he said.

NEW LIFE AHEAD

Statistics show that the population of Pumaqangtang increased from 883 in 2000 to 1,031 last year. The average life expectancy, though still low, has risen from 40 years to the current 49.5 years.

"A cadre must have a strong body to work in Pumaqangtang," said Tsering Norbu, party secretary of Nanggarze County.

So must the soldiers protecting the frontier.

A border police station was set up in Pumaqangtang in 2012 to guard the 25-km border with Bhutan. Soldiers have to patrol the glaciers at an altitude of up to 6,300 meters.

"It's like living at Mount Qomolangma base camp," said Chen.

To improve local living conditions, officials have built 37 heat-retaining sheepfolds, seven fodder storage units and 34 shelters for herders over the past three years.

Thanks to the government support, Pumaqangtang was among the first townships in Tibet to eradicate poverty. Its average annual income per capita reached 10,110 yuan (around 1,500 U.S. dollars) in 2016, more than double the figure (4,000 yuan) in 2012.

"Without government support, we would not have the life we have today," said Dawa Butri, a local herder.

Dawa Butri earns 3,000 yuan a year, while her husband, an auxiliary police officer, is paid about 10,000 yuan a year.

Together with annual subsidies of over 10,000 yuan from the local government and 4,000 yuan in extra income from making pulu, a traditional Tibetan wool textile, the family's annual income is nearly 30,000 yuan.

"Subsidies will increase again by 1,000 yuan this year," she said.

Local people like Dawa Butri know better days lie ahead.

The government has set up several plants to process dairy and beef products to help herders increase their income, and low-income families have been given free use of nine vegetable greenhouses to make extra money.

Additionally, all villagers will move from their old houses of mud and stone to reinforced steel and concrete dwellings when the weather warms up in May.

Twelve-year old Dampa Raje already has a vision for his hometown's future. In his painting, "Pumaqangtang in my heart," snowy mountains tower in the background while lazy cattle dot the green hills. Just outside their beautiful houses, winding asphalt leads them on the path to a new life.

 

[TaiShang]

Rural tourism helps relieve poverty in China's central, western regions
Sun Yang China Plus Updated: 2017-03-14

Hua Quan, a deputy of the 5th annual session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC). [Photo: China Plus/Sun Yang]


Poverty alleviation has been one of the hot topics at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).

In China, most of the rural poor are concentrated in the western and central regions inhabited by ethnic minorities.

But by developing tourism, local farmers in poverty-stricken areas have effectively improved their lives.

Wanggang Village in southwest China is a popular tourist destination in Guizhou Province. More than 70% of the residents are from the Bouyei ethnic group.

The villagers used to live on traditional agriculture by planting corn and rice on their barren fields, and most of the farming households lived below the poverty line.

Since 2007, the village has begun developing rural tourism focusing largely on culture. The landscapes, visual and performing arts and lifestyles of the Bouyei people attract thousands of tourists every year.

Deputy Hua Quan, secretary of the village branch of the Communist Party of China, said the village's per capita income in 2016 reached 12,000 yuan, or 1,730 U.S. dollars, about 6 times higher than 10 years ago.

Hua said tourism growth not only helps relieve poverty in the region, but also keeps Bouyei families united.

"Before 2007, half of the young people left the village to look for jobs in big cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai, leaving their children and parents at home. This has resulted in social contradictions. Following the development of rural tourism, young people returned to the village to run farms, businesses and breeding industry. The old problems were solved. It also tightened the bond of love between family members," said Hua.

By developing rural tourism, more money has flowed through these poverty-stricken regions in central and western China, increasing the number of jobs and bringing new ideas for development to those regions.

Statistics show that in 2015, more than 2.6 million people escaped poverty by developing tourism-related incomes. And the government is continuing its efforts to lift another 12 million people out of poverty by 2020 through developing rural tourism.

Li Jinzao, chief of the National Tourism Administration, told media during the NPC annual session that tourism will continue to be a pathway out of poverty for many.

"We are planning to lift 17% of the country's impoverished population out of poverty by developing tourism. The proportion is even higher in the regions with heavy tasks of poverty alleviation...We will step up efforts to reduce poverty through tourism. And to provinces that have been already lifted out of poverty, we will continue developing rural tourism to improve the quality of life for farmers," said Li.

The administration set its 13th Five-Year Plan to work with other agencies to provide support for 22,600 villages, including improving transportation, telecommunications, and sewage and garbage treatment facilities.

In addition, tourism experts will draft a workable design for developing rural tourism, as well as setting up monitoring centers to provide aid flexibly.

Yin Min, a professor of tourism management at Beijing International Studies University, said rural tourism has become a significant channel for reducing poverty.

He suggested that the villages dig deeply into the rich connotation of rural culture and integrate rural tourism with culture tourism to ensure sustainable development.

"Rural tourism should emphasize agricultural civilization and rural culture, highlighting the characteristics of folk culture. The form of tourism should enable interaction between the tourists and the locals. It is not only for sightseeing. There should be more opportunities for visitors to participate in farm activities for a more enriching tourism experience," said Yin.

 

[JSCh]

China to conduct 2nd scientific survey on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
(Xinhua) 08:21, March 27, 2017

​

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (file photo)​

LHASA, March 26 -- The government of Tibet Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences have agreed to launch a large-scale survey of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, 40 years after the first was conducted.

Scientists will set out in June to investigate changes in resources, ecology and the environment on the plateau. Their findings will be used to provide scientific support for environmental protection and economic and social development in Tibet.

New technologies, including drones and satellites, will be employed to cover the whole area and capture more comprehensive and accurate scientific data.

The first investigation was conducted in the 1970s, involving over 50 subjects such as geology, geophysics, botany, zoology and agriculture.

 

[Jlaw]

China to conduct 2nd scientific survey on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
(Xinhua) 08:21, March 27, 2017

​

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (file photo)​

LHASA, March 26 -- The government of Tibet Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences have agreed to launch a large-scale survey of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, 40 years after the first was conducted.

Scientists will set out in June to investigate changes in resources, ecology and the environment on the plateau. Their findings will be used to provide scientific support for environmental protection and economic and social development in Tibet.

New technologies, including drones and satellites, will be employed to cover the whole area and capture more comprehensive and accurate scientific data.

The first investigation was conducted in the 1970s, involving over 50 subjects such as geology, geophysics, botany, zoology and agriculture.

Maybe China is studying the feasibility of moving monsoon rain from India to China. @Kiss_of_the_Dragon

 

[JSCh]

Xinjiang desert produces 1 mln seedlings for sand control
Source: Xinhua 2017-03-28 21:34:01

URUMQI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A botanic garden in a Xinjiang desert announced Tuesday that the number of seedlings it fostered for sand control has exceeded 1 million.

A new group of 100,000 sacsaoul and 10,000 nitraria plants -- bushes that anchor the sand with their roots -- will be transported to nearby oil fields and other sites.

They were planted in the Tazhong Desert Botanic Garden, which is located deep in the Taklamakan Desert, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The Taklamakan Desert is known as the "sea of death" across China. In the Uygur language, its name means "go in and you won't come out."

In 2003, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the botanic garden to study and foster desert plants.

"A desert's center is extremely short of water and fertile soil, and is confronted by moving dunes and sandstorms. Plants grown in such an extreme environment are more resistant to drought and alkaline," said Chang Qing, a senior engineer from the institute.

Over the past 14 years, the garden has produced over 1 million seedlings, which can cover 2,000 hectares of land, Chang said.

The garden's experience and techniques have also been shared with many countries including Libya, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mauritania.

 

[JSCh]

Tibet develops new highland barley breed
Source: Xinhua 2017-03-29 19:05:31

LHASA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Scientists in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have developed a new breed of highland barley that will boost the region's grain yield.

The average output of the new breed, "Dongqing No.18," can reach 5,550 kg per hectare, 10 percent higher than that of the common winter highland barley breed, according to the Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences on Wednesday.

The entire growing period for Dongqing No.18 lasts around 270 days.

"During the trial planting period, the breed yielded 8,250 kg per hectare," said Chimed Wangmo, a breeding expert with the academy. "The breed has strong cold-resistant and lodging-resistant capacity, which makes it an advanced new breed."

By the end of 2017, Tibet will grow 13,333 hectares of Dongqing No.18, said Nyima Tashi, head of the academy.

Dongqing No.18 mainly grows at an altitude below 3,700 meters in Lhasa, Qamdo Prefecture and Lhoka Prefecture, and is harvested before the end of July.

Highland barley grows 1,000 meters above sea level on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. People living in the regions of Tibet, Qinghai and Gansu rely heavily on the grain.

 

[ahojunk]

Tibet "full of vigor" like never before: gov't chief
(Xinhua) 08:53, March 28, 2017

The Qinghai-Tibet railway. (File photo)​

LHASA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A top government official of China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday said Tibet is "full of vigor" and its people are confident to be at par with others in the nation to achieve a "moderately prosperous society."

"I can proudly say that Tibet is full of vigor like never before. A hundred flowers are in bloom," said Qizhala, chairman of region government, using a Chinese expression to describe a liberal and prosperous time.

In a televised speech on the eve of Tibet's Serfs' Emancipation Day, Qizhala said the people of Tibet are commemorating this day to tell the dark history of the old Tibet and show the fundamental changes that have taken place in the socialist new Tibet.

Serfs' Emancipation Day was formally established on March 28 by the regional legislature in 2009 to mark the start of Tibetan democracy, which ended the feudal serf system in 1959, freeing 1 million serfs, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time.

Qizhala said Tibet has achieved new progress since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012. The economy has been growing rapidly with solidarity among ethnic groups, a well-protected environment, improved livelihoods, and society in peace and harmony, he said.

He said Tibet has redoubled efforts to enhance ethnic solidarity, maintain peace and harmony in Buddhist monasteries and during religious rituals, and help more than 130,000 cast off poverty, 77,000 of whom were relocated from inhospitable areas.

Statistics show Tibet's economy grew by more than 10 percent and fixed assets investment shot up about 20 percent in 2016, taking a leading place among provincial-level regions nationwide. Tibet also topped the list of average disposable income growth for urban and rural residents.

Qizhala urged all people in Tibet to work even harder to march toward Tibet's lasting peace and security and long-term development.

 

[TaiShang]

Transformation, one step at a time.

**

Tibetan communities embrace new funeral customs
Xinhua, April 2, 2017

Rinchen, 40, works at a crematorium in a Tibetan community in northwest China.

For Tibetans, sky and water burials have traditionally been the most common funerary customs. Cremation has only been used in the modern age.

The Chabcha town funeral management house, where Rinchen and his wife work, was founded in 1982. It was one of the first crematoriums in Qinghai province, home to over 1.37 million ethnic Tibetan people.

"It took a very long process of consulting high monks before establishing the crematorium. The site for the cremation house was chosen by the tenth Panchen Lama," said Duraga, deputy director of the civil affairs bureau of Gonghe County, which administers Chabcha Town. Chabcha is the seat of the government of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai.

"In less developed Tibetan communities, such as herding areas, people still favor sky burials. But in the city, more Tibetan people now choose cremation," said Duraga.

There are four cremation houses at the crematorium.

"In the 1980s, only a few dozen people were cremated here each year," said Rinchen, whose father-in-law was the first person to run the crematorium.

Last year, 352 people were cremated there, and most of them were Tibetans from Qinghai, Gansu and northwest Sichuan.

Families usually put the ashes in bags made of white cloth and scatter them at sacred mountains and lakes.

"People scatter the ashes at sky burial sites at Qinghai Lake and the Yellow River, which flows through the county," said Rinchen.

"Before each cremation, families of the deceased invite monks from nearby monasteries, such as Khyamru Monastery, to give sermons and preside over the ceremonies," he said.

Rinchen and his wife Tsering make sure the lamps are always lit. Their family now lives at the crematorium.

"When I started living here, I often felt scared. Now I light lamps every day, touching the prayer wheels. It is a job to keep me busy," said Tsering.

"I use my hands to help the deceased finish their last step in the world. I feel it is the natural thing to do," she said.

About a few hundred miles to the southwest, Chindo County, in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is an area where sky burials are more common. Most of the people in the county are herders.

Tashi, who performs sky burials, often has to get up early to prepare for the rituals.

In sky burials, bodies are fed to vultures and other predatory birds. Buddhists believe in a cycle of rebirth and advocate kindness and charity. The spirit of the dead is believed to leave the body the moment a person dies and the dead should be fed to hungry vultures as a last token of charity.

Tashi is a monk at Lab Monastery. He started performing sky burial rituals in 2011. The Serkhang sky burial site, located about 3,800 meters above sea level at the foot of a snow-capped mountain, receives over 30 bodies every year.

"A burial starts at four in the morning and lasts about seven hours. I make sure every detail is right for the ritual," he said.

However, sometimes sky burial rituals do not go so smoothly. Environmental drives to kill rats on grasslands have led to a decline in the number of vultures and eagles.

"Some people may still honor tradition, but others may want the modern methods of burial. The people will choose on their own," said Wang Fayu, director of social affairs office of the Qinghai Provincial Civil Affairs Department.

A crematorium has been set up in every Tibetan autonomous county in Qinghai to provide diverse choices for the people, said Wang.

"The living buddhas said in the end, humans return their bodies to nature. No matter which method chosen, it is to show respect to the deceased and give solace to the living," said Rinchen.

 

[JSCh]

China to build observation station to protect Pamir Plateau
Source: Xinhua| 2017-04-07 22:09:42|Editor: Tian Shaohui

URUMQI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- China will build an observation station in Taxkorgan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, to improve the ecology of Pamir Plateau.

Pamir Plateau was once a busy passage used by traders traveling along the ancient Silk Road.

The station will be used by researchers concerned with water resources, biodiversity, grassland productivity, climate change, and disaster warning and forecasting, said Lei Jiaqiang, director of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Field observation could also help the local community improve agriculture and livestock production efficiency and support the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Lei said.

The Pamir Plateau Ecosystem Scientific Observation Station will be the tenth built by the institute in the country and will be run by the institute and the administration bureau of Taxkorgan Nature Reserve.

Situated in the west of the Pamir Plateau and some 300 kilometers from Kashgar City, Taxkorgan borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Lei said that the station would also facilitate scientific cooperation between China, its neighbors and international organizations.

The institute has built 15 field observational stations with countries in Central Asia.

 

[JSCh]

Highway to heaven, and to China's most isolated county
Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-17 11:26:33 | Editor: huaxia

An aerial view of the highway to Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

China's last isolated county was connected to the national road network when a highway to Medog County was built in Tibet in 2013.

An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road with a total investment of 950 million yuan (about 155 million U.S. dollars) stretches through hidden paths in primeval forests, tunnels under snow-covered mountains and bridges over big rivers.

An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road is accessible for eight to nine months per year, bar major natural disasters.

An aerial view of Medog County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Near China's border with India, Medog locates in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and south of the Himalayas. Its name means the "secret lotus" in Tibetan. And as the name suggests, it is a beautiful place surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It used to be known as China's last and only county without a highway link.

A U-turn of the Yarlung Zangbo River in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The county is quite different from other areas in Tibet in terms of both scenery and weather. Surrounded by mountains, it is humid and rich in resources.

Medog residents in a banana plantation in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Medog's breath-taking scene had attracted visitors around the world even before the road was built. Its hiking paths through mountains are famous among backpackers.

People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

But reaching Medog used to be a dangerous journey. People had to climb over Galung La and Doxong La, two snow-capped mountains rising over 4,000 meters above sea level. During the journey, there were frequent accidents such as landslides and collapses.

Vehicles pass a waterfall on the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Rugged mountain paths were once the only travel routes in Medog. Complicated geological conditions and frequent natural disasters had thwarted seven previous attempts to build a highway in the area since the 1960s.

Bridges to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Local people called the rugged way "monkeys' path," as only people who were light and flexible like monkeys could make their way out of the mountains.

People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

A makeshift road dug along cliffs was built in 1994, but was only accessible between July and September, with frequent fatal traffic accidents.

An aerial view of the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The building of the new road was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, in 2008. Work officially began in April 2009.

Medog children in a grocery store in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

​

The opening of the Medog road has greatly lowered transportation costs and commodity prices. It has also brought in opportunities for the locals and helped in poverty relief.

A temple in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

In 2016, over 70,000 tourists visited Medog, double the amount before the road went into operation in 2013. Most local residents now go in for tourism and transportation businesses.

 

[JSCh]

Xinjiang to invest 14.4 billion yuan on airport construction
Source: Xinhua| 2017-04-17 16:23:09|Editor: Lu Hui

URUMQI, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang plans to spend 14.4 billion yuan on the construction or expansion of 17 airports this year to enhance the region's role as a transport terminal linking China with Central Asia.

Fourteen are transport airports located in the cities of Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu, Yining, Korla and Altay and some counties including Zhaosu, Yutian and Shache. The other three are general airports.

Shache Airport will be the first to be completed this year. It will be the 19th transport airport in Xinjiang.

Urumqi International Airport will add two runways and a new terminal building covering 450,000 square meters, with its passenger and cargo throughput rising to 48 million people and 550,000 tonnes respectively.

Ye Tao, senior engineer and deputy chief of the Planning and Development Department of the Xinjiang Airport Group said the infrastructure construction would facilitate the local economy and make air travel more convenient.

Xinjiang currently has 18 transport airports in use, the highest of China's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. By 2025, the number will rise to 33.

 

[JSCh]

Xinjiang's medical industry becomes promising part of Belt and Road Initiative
Source: Xinhua| 2017-04-21 18:42:04|Editor: An

Patients from Kazakhstan chat with medical staff at a hospital in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. Xinjiang's medical industry has become a promising part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a grand trade and infrastructure plan proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, major hospitals in Urumqi treated 8,645 foreign patients, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. Now five hospitals in Xinjiang opened their international departments, and they plan to add at least 500 beds for foreign patients in the following years. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A nurse interacts with a child and mother from Uzbekistan at a hospital in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. The child was born in the hospital. Xinjiang's medical industry has become a promising part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a grand trade and infrastructure plan proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, major hospitals in Urumqi treated 8,645 foreign patients, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. Now five hospitals in Xinjiang opened their international departments, and they plan to add at least 500 beds for foreign patients in the following years. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A patient from Kazakhstan receives massage after surgery at a hospital in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. Xinjiang's medical industry has become a promising part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a grand trade and infrastructure plan proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, major hospitals in Urumqi treated 8,645 foreign patients, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. Now five hospitals in Xinjiang opened their international departments, and they plan to add at least 500 beds for foreign patients in the following years. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A patient from Turkmenistan sees a doctor at a hospital in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. Xinjiang's medical industry has become a promising part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a grand trade and infrastructure plan proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, major hospitals in Urumqi treated 8,645 foreign patients, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. Now five hospitals in Xinjiang opened their international departments, and they plan to add at least 500 beds for foreign patients in the following years. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A doctor provides remote consultations at a hospital in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. Xinjiang's medical industry has become a promising part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a grand trade and infrastructure plan proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, major hospitals in Urumqi treated 8,645 foreign patients, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. Now five hospitals in Xinjiang opened their international departments, and they plan to add at least 500 beds for foreign patients in the following years. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

Highway to heaven, and to China's most isolated county
Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-17 11:26:33 | Editor: huaxia

An aerial view of the highway to Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

China's last isolated county was connected to the national road network when a highway to Medog County was built in Tibet in 2013.

An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road with a total investment of 950 million yuan (about 155 million U.S. dollars) stretches through hidden paths in primeval forests, tunnels under snow-covered mountains and bridges over big rivers.

An aerial view of a highway in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The road is accessible for eight to nine months per year, bar major natural disasters.

An aerial view of Medog County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Near China's border with India, Medog locates in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and south of the Himalayas. Its name means the "secret lotus" in Tibetan. And as the name suggests, it is a beautiful place surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It used to be known as China's last and only county without a highway link.

A U-turn of the Yarlung Zangbo River in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The county is quite different from other areas in Tibet in terms of both scenery and weather. Surrounded by mountains, it is humid and rich in resources.

Medog residents in a banana plantation in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Medog's breath-taking scene had attracted visitors around the world even before the road was built. Its hiking paths through mountains are famous among backpackers.

People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

But reaching Medog used to be a dangerous journey. People had to climb over Galung La and Doxong La, two snow-capped mountains rising over 4,000 meters above sea level. During the journey, there were frequent accidents such as landslides and collapses.

Vehicles pass a waterfall on the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Rugged mountain paths were once the only travel routes in Medog. Complicated geological conditions and frequent natural disasters had thwarted seven previous attempts to build a highway in the area since the 1960s.

Bridges to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Local people called the rugged way "monkeys' path," as only people who were light and flexible like monkeys could make their way out of the mountains.

People have to trek on rugged paths to carry in and out goods in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region before the road was built. Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

A makeshift road dug along cliffs was built in 1994, but was only accessible between July and September, with frequent fatal traffic accidents.

An aerial view of the highway to Medog in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The building of the new road was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, in 2008. Work officially began in April 2009.

Medog children in a grocery store in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

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The opening of the Medog road has greatly lowered transportation costs and commodity prices. It has also brought in opportunities for the locals and helped in poverty relief.

A temple in Medog, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2017 (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

In 2016, over 70,000 tourists visited Medog, double the amount before the road went into operation in 2013. Most local residents now go in for tourism and transportation businesses.

I think China should do better for these remote region, let our people to cross artisan bridge and walk across unsafe passage is unacceptable, we claim to have high civil engineering and we do nothing for these people...

 

[JSCh]

I think China should do better for these remote region, let our people to cross artisan bridge and walk across unsafe passage is unacceptable, we claim to have high civil engineering and we do nothing for these people...

FYI, those are photo taken in 2004.

Medog has especially difficult terrain and weather. The article said

"Complicated geological conditions and frequent natural disasters had thwarted seven previous attempts to build a highway in the area since the 1960s."

"China's last isolated county was connected to the national road network when a highway to Medog County was built in Tibet in 2013."

Actually Medog was mentioned in Chinese media and forum quite often because of its being the last unconnected county for quite some year. You can find details of the attempt and difficulty in engineering involved if you search Chinese media.