What is the magic of G219, China's most beautiful self-driving highway?

The Tibet section of National Highway 219 is a unique avenue in the world: a scenic avenue, a scientific avenue, a tourist avenue, and a civilized avenue.

On the majestic Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, there is a highway that runs from north to south and from west to east along the veins of the world's roofs such as the Karakoram Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, Gangdise Mountains, Himalayas, and Hengduan Mountains, connecting the magical and magnificent natural geographical landscapes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and telling the story of the evolution of the earth and human survival and development over billions of years. This is the Tibet section of National Highway 219 (G219).

G219 schematic diagram

G219 Bingchacha Line Tibet Border

This avenue passes through towering mountains, surging rivers, holy and majestic glaciers, numerous lakes, and colorful habitats, presenting the power of plate collision, the changes of the world, the process of life succession, the integration of history and culture, and the progress of human civilization.

This avenue connects Tibet with the outside world, continues the history of the ancient Tea-Horse Road, the Tang-Tibet Road, the Fan-Ni Road and other plateau Silk Roads, carries the hope for rural revitalization and development in China's western border areas, and opens a new chapter in exchanges between China and South Asia.

G219 and the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, the Tang-Tibet Road, and the Fan-Ni Road

This is a national road.

G219 is the longest national highway in China. Together with G331 and G228, it forms the three major border highways surrounding my country's border areas.

It connects my country's western border line and the main artery of the Maritime Silk Road. It has a large altitude difference, steep terrain along the way, rich earth landscapes, and strong minority ethnic cultures. It is the political line, national defense line and economic line of my country's southwestern border area. It has important strategic significance in promoting regional economic development, maintaining national unity, developing tourism resources, protecting the environment and maintaining national security.

Schematic diagram of the China border loop

The Tibet section of G219 is the core section of G219, with a total length of about 3,500 kilometers, accounting for about one-third of the entire length of G219. It starts from Jieshan Daban in the north and ends at the junction of Chawalung Township in Tibet and Bingzhongluo Town in Yunnan in the south.

From the vast wilderness of Ali to the deep canyons of Nyingchi, there are endless beautiful scenery and rich ethnic customs along the way.

Here are the world's highest mountains, deepest canyons, richest biodiversity, and especially the most abundant mountain glacier landscapes. It is the source of many major rivers in Asia, and showcases the vicissitudes of the earth's evolution and the long process of national development.

Mount Everest - the highest peak in the world

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon

The primeval forest in southeastern Tibet (@Tibet Linzhi City Medog County Cultural Tourism Bureau)

This is a scientific avenue.

Traveling along the Tibet section of G219, we can not only appreciate the colorful natural geographical landscapes along the route, but also feel the wonderful charm and profound connotation of the earth science stories.

Here, you can see the mysteries of the earth. You can witness the wonderful combination of the six spheres of the earth (lithosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and human sphere), and experience the magical interweaving of natural and human forces such as continental collision, glacial erosion, river cutting, atmospheric circulation, ecological balance, and human development.

The Tibet section of G219 runs through six degrees of latitude from north to south and across 18 degrees of longitude from east to west, with an altitude difference of nearly 5,000 meters. The route covers the full spectrum of the earth's landscapes, including the frigid zone, cold-temperate zone, temperate zone, subtropical zone and tropical zone.

Rich natural geographical elements in the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon

Here, the geographical landscape is colorful. Snow-capped mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, sand dunes, glaciers and other geographical landscapes are perfectly integrated, and under the interaction of multiple circles, they present graceful postures and gorgeous colors.

G219 Tibet section of the "mountain, water, forest, field, lake, grass and shaved ice" gathered

Plate collision arch

Mountains upon mountains

The Tibet section of G219 is a highway that allows you to enjoy world-class peaks. It spans the western and southern edges of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate collide.

The combined forces of the two major plates over tens of millions of years have created the world's highest and thickest plateau: the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Under the collision and compression of the plates, the rock layers that were once submerged in the ocean were pushed to more than 4,000 meters above sea level, forming undulating mountains of various shapes.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the Tibet section of G219 is located, is the largest and highest plateau in the world, known as the "Roof of the World" and the "Third Pole". The spectacular Himalayas, with 10 peaks over 8,000 meters rising into the sky.

Mount Namunani, Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and Lake Laang at the junction of the Himalayas and the Gangdise Mountains (@VCG)

The rocks of different ages are either laid flat or curved, and contain brachiopods, trilobites, ammonites, three-toed horses, and alpine oaks. The fossils of ancient creatures bear witness to the history of the vicissitudes of life and the rise of the plateau.

G219 Tibet Ali section, the earth folds along the road

Earth forest landscape in Zhada County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet (@VCG)

The violent collision of the plates also caused the fracture of the rock strata, so that surface water could penetrate deep into the cracks, absorb heat from the earth's interior, and then gush out, forming numerous hot springs scattered along the Tibet section of G219.

Barre Spring, Suodu Village, Menshi Township, Gar County, Ali Prefecture, Tibet (@赵平)

Glacier sports

Shaping the top of snow-capped mountains and the depths of lakes

There are many mountain glaciers along the Tibet section of G219. Many glaciers such as Namunani, Dasuopu, Rongbuk, Zelongnong and Aza are distributed along the Tibet section of G219, telling the story of the world of ice and snow.

Snow accumulates into ice on the mountain top all year round. The ice flows down from the mountain top, constantly eroding the mountain and creating peaks as sharp as spearheads or ridges as sharp as knife blades.

There are 14,398 glaciers within a 100-kilometer radius along the Tibet section of G219, accounting for about 29.6% of the number of glaciers in my country, and a total glacier area of ​​15,878 square kilometers, accounting for about 30.7% of the total glacier area in my country.

Namunani Glacier

Dasuopu Glacier on Shishapangma

Aerial view of Mount Nanga Parbat (right) and Mount Kalabailei (lower left)

On steep slopes, the rapid flow of glaciers turns into spectacular icefalls, and below the waterfalls, the plasticity of ice is fully demonstrated. When the climate warms, the melting of glaciers accelerates, the ends shrink, and the former glacial valleys are surrounded by moraine ridges and become moraine lakes.

The lakes fed by glacier meltwater are either isolated or strung together like pearls, contrasting with the ice and snow on the mountains, shining with the blue sky and white clouds, and dependent on all living things.

Abrasive dust formed by glaciers eroding the rock is suspended in the glacial lake, reflecting shorter wavelength light and showing a wonderful green or blue color.

Longmu Co at the foot of the glacier in Ali region of Tibet

Rongbuk Glacier and its end foreglacial lake on Mount Everest

Aza Glacier in Southeast Tibet and the Foreglacial Lake at Its Terminal

River erosion

Carved canyons and ravines, wonderful scenery and wonders

The Tibet section of G219 is accompanied by rivers all the way, passing through many rivers including the Shiquan River, Xiangquan River, Kongque River, Maquan River, Yarlung Zangbo River and Nujiang River.

The tall Himalayas act as a natural barrier, intercepting water vapor from the Indian Ocean. The water vapor cools down as the altitude increases and condenses into rain and snow, gathering into rivers originating from the mountains. On the hillsides, small streams merge into small rivers, eroding out gullies.

The major rivers along the Tibet section of G219 flow through the high mountain canyons and plain sands of the plateau, forming the unique river hydrological landscape of the plateau.

Braided river landscape of the Yarlung Zangbo River (@VCG)

When you cross the Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains and go deep into many valleys such as Zhada Valley, Lebu Valley, Chentang Valley, Rongxia Valley, and see the moving clouds and waterfalls, rushing rivers, and overlapping earth forests, you will be amazed at the amazing power of the river.

Cliff waterfall in Medog Canyon, Tibet

Aerial photography of Qilin Gorge

When you enter the deep canyon, drive on the flat terraces and wide alluvial fans, and see the peach blossoms in full bloom and the crisscrossing fields, you will surely marvel at the great contribution made by the river.

The lower canyon section of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Pai Town, Milin City, Tibet (@VCG)

Atmospheric circulation drives

The wind and clouds are surging, and there are countless objects

The Tibet section of G219 has gone through ever-changing weather, monsoons, and westerly winds, creating unparalleled natural wonders in this mysterious land.

In the high mountain valleys of southeastern Tibet, the warm and humid monsoon brings a cloud-shrouded ink-wash landscape of mountains. On the vast grasslands of Ali, Shigatse and Shannan, air convection rises, and water vapor cools and condenses into various forms of clouds.

Clouds and mist roll over the valley

G219 Lake Convective Evaporation Clouds in Ngari Section of Tibet

On the banks of rivers and lakes in the Yarlung Zangbo River system, winds that change with the seasons or day and night blow up exposed sand from the riverbed and accumulate it on the shores or hillsides to form layers of sand dunes.

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Danniang Buddha Palm Sand Dunes (@付晶)

In the Hengduan Mountains, air currents rise and fall like waves, forming a vibrant green in the valleys on the leeward slopes.

The first bend of Nujiang River in Bingzhongluo Town, Gongshan County, at the border between Tibet and Yunnan

Ecological balance

Maintaining lush forests and the source of life

The area along the Tibet section of G219 is the cradle of life, but also the edge of life, full of vitality and challenges. There is the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, a vertical vegetation spectrum with a drop of about 6,000 meters, and a forest-grassland-desert transition from Linzhi to Ali over 3,000 kilometers.

Differences in vegetation at different altitudes in the mountains of southeastern Tibet (@Lu Xiaoming)

The forests in southeastern Tibet are full of colors in autumn

Here you can see the biodiversity from tropical rainforests to alpine meadows, visit the home of the country's tallest trees, look out at the world's tallest cedar scrub line, and step into a Himalayan garden full of blooming rhododendrons.

Buzong Primeval Forest (@Xi Zhinong)

G219 Snow Rhododendron widely distributed in southeastern Tibet

On the lush grass and in the long forests, there is a relationship of predation and competition between different animals, forming a complex and stable food web composed of food chains, demonstrating the power of ecological balance.

Tibetan antelopes in Ngari, Tibet along G219

Black-necked cranes in Ngari, Tibet, along G219

Human development runs through the world's paradise and natural barriers

The Tibet section of G219 not only carries the long history of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, but also injects the development momentum of the new era, the national road to prosper the border and enrich the people. Along the Tibet section of G219, more and more people follow this road, cross the numerous natural barriers, go deep into the scattered paradise, run in the vast wilderness, and appreciate the unique culture of the plateau ethnic groups.

Rice fields in Beibeng Township, Medog County, Nyingchi City, Tibet

Residents of Medog County, Nyingchi City, Tibet celebrate the festival (@Tibet Nyingchi City Medog County Cultural Tourism Bureau)

More and more people are practicing the concept of a community of life, caring for lake grass and sand ice more scientifically, protecting mountains, rivers, forests and fields, and striding forward towards green and high-quality development on this road leading to the high land of ecological civilization.

Tibet Linzhi City Medog County Characteristic Tourism Town (@VCG)

Planning and production

Source: China Cartographic Publishing Group

Editor: Yinuo