Go to 331 and cross the northern border of China!

In northern China

A total length of more than 9,000 kilometers

New Super National Highway 331

Gradually being implemented

From Liaoning to Xinjiang

It passes through countless forests in northern China

Countless grasslands and Gobi Deserts

Passing through all provinces and regions in northern China

All neighboring countries, all ports

It is called "the king of highways in northern China"

(National Highway 331 is currently the second longest national highway in China; please watch in horizontal mode, full view of National Highway 331, drawn by @陈志浩&王申雯/Planet Research Institute)

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Cross it

Loneliness and Freedom in the North

Desolate and colorful, ordinary and great

On this wild road

On the road of ecology and energy

Show all

I

Wild Road

A bird's eye view of China

National Highway 331 has a very long east-west distance

From the Northeast Mountains

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The mist-shrouded Changbai Mountain Tianchi Lake looks like a fairyland. The winding path leads to the Changbai Mountain Tianchi Meteorological Station. Photographer: Zhuo Yongsheng)

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To the Northwest Basin

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The rocky Junggar Basin looks like a demonic world. This is the Yadan landform. Photographer: @Hao Pei)

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Across 4 time zones

From the coast, it gradually penetrates into the interior of Eurasia

According to the water vapor decreasing from east to west

Formed a huge area

Gradient Landscape

Including wet areas

forest

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the Greater Khingan Range is covered with ice for thousands of miles; the Northeast Forest Area is the largest natural forest area in my country, photographer @刘兆明)

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Semi-humid and semi-arid regions

Savanna

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The maple reserve in Daiqintala, Inner Mongolia, is all red. Photographer: @李昂)

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Semi-arid

grassland

(Please watch in horizontal mode, looking at the vast green Xilin Gol Grassland in Inner Mongolia, photographer @马俊)

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Most of the inland areas

Because of the distance from the ocean

And the water vapor is blocked by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Extremely dry and little rain all year round

Lack of vegetation cover

On the bare surface

The strong wind from the northwest is particularly strong.

(A "black storm" suddenly hits Inner Mongolia, picture source: @Visual China)

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or carved rock

Leaving behind all kinds of strange shapes

(Urhe Ghost City in Karamay, Xinjiang, photographer @朱金华)

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Or eroding the earth together with the flowing water

Leaving behind a mountain pass as flat as a knife

(Pingdingshan volcano group in Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia, photographer @徐博)

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Or accumulation of fine sand

Leaving behind endless sand dunes

(Overlooking the vast desert on the Alxa Plateau in Inner Mongolia, photographer @陈剑峰)

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Finally created

The world's largest

With a typical continental climate

Temperate inland arid and semi-arid zones

Formed an area equivalent to more than 30 Taiwan provinces

desert

(Sketch of arid and semi-arid areas in China, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

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Such as the hundreds of meters high sand mountain

Badain Jaran Desert

(Please watch it in horizontal mode. The curves of the sand dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert are like the human body, very beautiful. Photographer: @吴玮)

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And China's largest

Fixed and semi-fixed deserts

Gurbantunggut Desert

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The sky above the Gurbantunggut Desert is covered with dark clouds, casting a huge shadow on the ground. Photographer: @Hao Pei)

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Top 10 Deserts in China

The area around National Highway 331 includes 5

The heavier sand and gravel

It forms a desolate desert.

A world of gravel

(The Gobi Desert in Xinjiang is full of sand and gravel, photographer @陈剑峰)

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Walking on this road

No need to cross many mountains and valleys

Can run forward without hindrance

The only thing coming towards me is

Infinite loneliness

(The road in the desert near National Highway 331, photographer @Alan in the distance)

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Unlimited freedom

(National Highway 331 passing through the grassland, photographer @李雨森)

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Heaven and Earth Connected

It seems like there is no end

Enjoy the roar of the wind here

Feel the vastness of the wilderness

It is truly the northern border of China.

Wild Road

II

Ecological Road

This vast land

It is also the region with the most prominent temperate climate in China.

Along National Highway 331,

Warm temperate zone

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Yalu River Estuary National Wetland Reserve, photographer @常建儒)

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Temperate zone

(Balikun Grassland and Mingsha Mountain, photographer @飞翔)

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Cold Temperate Zone

There are 3 temperature zones

(Kanas Lake and snow-capped mountains in Xinjiang, photographer @蒋晨明)

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Seasonal changes

Not only has a gorgeous dream scenery

Life is also extremely tenacious

The most cold-resistant tree species in the North

larch, birch, Mongolian oak, etc.

Crazy Growth

(Mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests and other tree species in Altay, Xinjiang, photographers @郑菲元&郑菲元&赵高翔&李星志&霍春光&朱金华)

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The most drought-tolerant vegetation in the interior

Haloxylon ammodendron, Populus euphratica, Camel thorn, Euphratica serrata, etc.

Standing tall

(“Lonely” desert poplars and other vegetation, photographers @赵来清&杨晞&李俊博&Visual China&于鑫&Visual China)

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On the snowy plain

Siberian tiger, black bear, sable, weasel

Reindeer, roe deer, snow hare, etc.

Grow thick fur

(Sables and other animals in the snow, photographers @孙晓宏&刘璐&卢文&李璐&敖咏梅)

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In the desert

Camel, wild donkey, marmot (tǎ)

Gerbils, lizards, sandgrouse, etc.

Very resistant to hunger and thirst

(A hairless camel is running, along with other animals, photographers @陈建伟&郭宏宇&赵力强&刘璐&仇梦涵)

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Here it carries

China's largest cold temperate zone biological gene bank

Living fossils of desert paleontology

It is the home of northern flora and fauna

And the indispensable ecological kingdom

However, over the centuries

Affected by human over-exploitation

The ecological balance of this land is gradually broken

Large amounts of forest converted to farmland

(On both sides of the road are the Greater Khingan Range forest and reclaimed farmland, photographer @郑斐元)

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Large amounts of grassland turned into sand

(The expansion of the Maowusu Desert is caused by unlimited reclamation and cultivation and environmental degradation. Photographer @陈剑峰)

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Until 1978

my country's first major ecological construction project

The “Three Norths Project” was launched

It is expected to last more than 70 years

In Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China

Build a 10,000-mile sand prevention line

(Sketch of the “Three Norths” shelterbelt project, drawn by @陈志浩/Planet Research Institute, photographer @姜鸿)

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Decades

Four generations quietly planted trees in the wilderness

Fighting the raging sandstorm

The world's largest afforestation project was built

Achievements recognized worldwide

(Nowadays, many people also "plant trees online"; the picture below is the "Ant Forest" area in Inner Mongolia, photographer @李珩)

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besides

In 2015, the Greater Khingan Range forest area

Declared a complete logging ban

Ecosystem in northern China is recovering

Thanks to this

National Highway 331 connects the northern wilderness

The most colorful look

Wetlands

(Overlooking the super-long Hailar River wetland, picture source @Changguang Satellite)

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lake

(The gorgeous rose lake in the Badain Jaran Desert, photographer @刘白)

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Living things

(Please watch in horizontal mode, autumn scenery in Inner Mongolia, photographer @张强)

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It has everything

This is one of the charms of National Highway 331

On one side is a unique ecological treasure trove

On one side is a century-long ecological project

It can be called the northern border of China.

Ecological Road

III

Energy Road

However, under the endless vitality

But there is intense magma activity hidden deep inside

The largest volcano on the Chinese mainland

(The towering Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain, as seen by photographer @仁甲)

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And dense volcanoes

(Arshan volcano group, photographer @杨晓)

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Distributed along the line

In addition, complex geological conditions

The mineralization conditions in northern China are very favorable

There are countless minerals underground

(The side wall of Xinjiang Fuyun No. 3 Mine is spiral-shaped, photographer @郭城安)

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Huge oil fields

(Please watch horizontally. The Karamay Oilfield in the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang is full of "oil extraction machines". Photographer: @张卫国/Visual China)

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National Highway 331 passes by

6 provinces and regions, more than 70 counties and cities

Located in northern China,

Industrial town

As one of the country's large coal-fired power bases

Xilinhot

(Looking at the city skyline of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia from a distance, picture source: @Visual China)

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Owning the largest graphite deposit in Asia

Hegang

(Snow scene in Hegang city, Heilongjiang, image source: @Visual China)

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The reserves of diatomite rank first in Asia

Linjiang

(Night view of Linjiang City, Jilin, photographer @清小汐)

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besides

There is also the boron mine in Dandong

Molybdenum mines in Siziwang Banner

Lithium mines in Keketuohai, etc.

They are all representatives of industrial strength

From a larger perspective

There are 4 neighboring countries along National Highway 331

All of them are resource-rich countries

Several border ports in northern China

It is the channel of energy

(The four neighboring countries are North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan; the picture below is the Manzhouli Port, which is currently the largest land port in China. The photographer is @赵家乐)

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These channels

Will connect to other

National highways, provincial highways, and rural highways

A land border network covering the whole country

Becoming the main artery of industrial transportation

Bringing about the flow of people

(The streets of Manzhouli are brightly lit, photographer @泓Sam)

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The prosperity of the city

(Fuyuan, the easternmost city in China, welcomes the nightfall. Photographer: @张扬小强)

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This seemingly ordinary

But the road of mission

It will also be for more distant places

For China's modernization drive that will last for a century

Injecting a steady stream of "blood"

at the same time

New energy sources are constantly being developed

Such as wind energy

(Inner Mongolia ranks first in the country in terms of total wind energy reserves; the picture below shows a wind power plant in Inner Mongolia, source: @Visual China)

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Solar

(Inner Mongolia also has abundant light resources; the picture below shows a solar power plant in Inner Mongolia, photographer @焦潇翔)

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New industries are emerging

Such as technological farming

(Inner Mongolia's comprehensive animal husbandry production level ranks first among the five major pastoral areas in the country; the picture below shows the modern breeding industry in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, which helps the local people get rid of poverty. Photographer @静言)

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Mechanical tillage

(Heilongjiang's "Great Northern Wilderness" is a famous granary in my country; the picture below shows a harvester harvesting crops, photographer @徐宏宇)

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Diversified Development

Gradually changing people's lives

With the help of sustainable development

This energy road in northern China

You can also go further

Clearer

IV

end

No doubt

National Highway 331 will be

Explore the true face of China's northern border

The way to go

And its charm

More people will discover

The legendary story of ancient dynasties

(The statue of Genghis Khan on the prairie of Inner Mongolia, and other landscapes, photographer @Qiu Huining & Sun Hongguo & Liu Yusheng)

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Nomadic peoples’ culture and customs

(Ewenki camel race in winter, and other cultural customs, photographer @鹿秦平&卢文&张康年&卢文&Visual China&水冬青)

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The vicissitudes of the northern border

(Border guards at the Erenhot national gate, which is known as the "Northern Gate of China", other border landscapes, photographers @Visual China & Lu Weiping & Shi Yaochen & Zhu Fusheng & Zhu Jinhua)

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All along the way

Countless people are fascinated

If you say

China's longest national highway 219 is surrounded by mountains

It's a challenger's road

Then the National Highway 331 with thousands of miles of wilderness

It is more like a

The lonely road

But when you actually come here

Only then will you discover

The loneliness in the wind

It is a hymn to freedom

(Overlooking the 331 National Highway in the mist, passing through the long Greater Khingan Range, photographer @赵高翔)

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The vastness of the wilderness

It is the joy of life

(The nomadic people galloping on horses inherit the elegance and courage, photographer @刘兆明)

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The ordinary road

It is the journey of rising

(National Highway 331 in the snow passes through the northern scenery and the roar of factories, photographer @佐蚁)

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And this is

"The King of Highways in Northern China"

This is something that should not be ignored

North China

This article was created by

Written by | Zhou Nanbei

Picture | Grateful Heart

Design | Wang Shenwen

Map | Chen Zhihao

Review | Quasimodo by the River & Shanyue Tower & Zheng Yi

Planetary Research Institute

Focus on exploring the extreme world from a geographical perspective

···THE END···