Travel 5 million kilometers across China!

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5 million km

Highway

Spreading all over China

Interwoven into a dense giant network

If laid end to end, it would be enough to circle the Earth 130 times

(By the end of 2020, China's highway mileage had reached 5.1981 million kilometers; the figure below shows China's highway network, drawn by @陈志浩/Planet Research Institute)

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This giant network connects all corners of the world

At the same time, you can also take in all the scenery from all over the world

From the towering mountains

(Dawaliangzi and nearby roads in Sichuan, photographer @任岷)

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To the boundless sea

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Dalian Xinghai Bay Bridge, photographer @周昫光)

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From the bustling city

(Guangzhou Xinguang Bridge and urban scene, photographer @杜华林)

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To the quiet countryside

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the scene of Zhagana in Gansu, photographer @张世瑜)

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Thousands of roads

Connecting thousands of landscapes

It constitutes the most densely populated

Scenic Corridor

I

Meet the mountain

China is a country of mountains

Mountains account for about 1/3 of the country's total land area.

Criss-crossed, blocked by mountains and rivers

The winding mountain road along the mountain came into being

The Yellow River Stone Forest Winding Mountain Road in Jingtai, Gansu

The 22 bends in the brown rocks

Rough and mysterious under the light and shadow

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Yellow River Stone Forest Panshan Road in Jingtai, Gansu, photographer @李俊博)

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Tianmen Mountain winding road in Zhangjiajie, Hunan

In a length of about 11 kilometers

Climb 1,100 meters with 99 turns

Surrounded by towering peaks and steep cliffs

(The winding mountain road of Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, photographer @林海)

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On the Pamir Plateau, where the average altitude is over 4,500 meters,

Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang

"Panlong Ancient Road"

With more than 200 bends

Galloping down the snowy mountains

Like the wild cursive writing of the earth

(The "Panlong Ancient Road" in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, photographer @水冬青)

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Mount Everest Highway at the foot of Mount Everest

The number of bends also exceeds 100

Closely arranged with a large rotation of nearly 180 degrees

The peak of the earth shines in the distance

(The Everest Highway, with Mount Everest in the distance, photographer @张扬小强)

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In addition to the mountain road

People also chiseled away at the hard mountain.

Completed tunnel

In an era of limited technology and financial conditions

People in remote areas

Only some short and special tunnels can be built

The Hanging Wall Road is one of them.

Xiyagou Cliff Road in Lingchuan, Shanxi

Hidden in the cliffs

Only intermittent and narrow "windows"

Tell people about the existence of roads

Become a wonder on the cliff

(Xiyagou Cliff-hanging Road in Shanxi, photographer @焦潇翔)

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Guoliang Cliff-hanging Road in Huixian County, Henan Province

Equally shocking

Looking out from inside the highway

Unlimited scenery

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Guoliang Cliff-hanging Road in Henan, photographer @焦潇翔)

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With the continuous upgrading of technology

The tunnel penetrates the mountain

Connecting to the wider Chinese land

in

China's longest road tunnel

It is a highway tunnel in Zhongnanshan, Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi Province.

It runs through the mountain for 18,020 meters.

Connecting the North and the South

(Qinling Zhongnanshan Highway Tunnel, photographer @魏伟)

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In the Hengduan Mountains, where there are many mountains and forests

Chershan Tunnel

It is the world's first railway with an altitude of more than 4,300 meters.

Ultra-long highway tunnel

Snow-capped mountains and glaciers are within reach

(Queershan Tunnel, photographer @葛征)

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Xinerlangshan Tunnel, also located in Hengduan Mountains

Not only did it overcome multiple regional fault zones,

It is also 13459 meters long.

Becomes one of the longest highway tunnels in China's high altitude areas

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the section of Yaye Expressway near Dadu River, from right to left are the entrance of Xinerlangshan Tunnel, Luding Tunnel, Xingkangte Bridge, and Shawan Tunnel. Photographer: @姜曦)

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Mountains make China's highway landscape three-dimensional

The arrival of water

Make the road more colorful

II

Meet the River

There are 48,571 glaciers in China.

And countless snow-capped mountains

When the snow melts and becomes flowing water

Together with natural precipitation, it gathers in low-lying areas

Many beautiful and holy lakes were formed.

Sailimu Lake in Xinjiang

Lianhuo Expressway

Sometimes close, sometimes far

It seems that I can't bear to disturb this mirror-like purity

(The above glacier data comes from China's second glacier inventory; the picture below is Sailimu Lake, photographer @石耀臣)

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The famous holy lake Yamdrok Yumtso

National Highway 349

The lakeshore and the road are equally winding.

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Yamdrok Lake, photographer @索以)

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Other water systems are not content to stay only on the plateau.

They are more majestic

Gather into rivers

Cutting deep valleys between the mountains

To cross the canyon

People are on the steep abyss of the river

Bridge the Canyon

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the Qinghai Ga Ma Yang Qu Yellow River Highway Bridge across the canyon, photographer @水冬青)

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The first bridge over Beipan River at the border of Guizhou and Yunnan

With a bridge deck height of 565 meters

Overlooking the Nizhu River Grand Canyon

The bridge deck is as high as a 200-story building above the water.

It is the highest canyon bridge above water in China.

(Beipanjiang First Bridge, photographer @熊可)

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Baling River Bridge in Guizhou

It is known for its slenderness

It has a main bridge length of 1,088 meters.

Crossing the Baling River

Like a rainbow piercing the clouds

(Please watch in horizontal screen, Guizhou Baling River Bridge, photographer @欧阳红)

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Aizhai Bridge in Hunan

Across the Dehang Grand Canyon

The main bridge is 1,414 meters long.

In the clouds, it's like a fairyland

(Please watch in horizontal screen, Hunan Aizhai Bridge, photographer @张术杰)

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As the river rushes out of the mountain pass, the flow slows down

The water no longer cuts the earth with great force

But it flows across the plains

Forming a wide river channel

This place is often densely populated

A highway bridge built to facilitate people's travel

It is commonplace

The only cross-river bridge on the main line of the Yangtze River

There are more than a hundred

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge with a main bridge of 1,156 meters

It is the first Yangtze River Bridge built after the founding of New China.

Known as the "First Bridge over the Yangtze River"

(The main line of the Yangtze River refers to the section from Shuifu, Yunnan to the Yangtze River estuary; please view the picture below in horizontal mode. The bridges on the Yangtze River in Wuhan, from near to far, are Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge, Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, Wuhan Yangtze River Second Bridge, and Erqi Yangtze River Bridge. Photographer: @陶进)

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And more rivers

There are also figures flying over highway bridges

Harbin Songhua River Highway Bridge heading north to Heilongjiang

You can enjoy the frozen Songhua River in winter

(Songhua River Highway Bridge in Harbin, Heilongjiang, photographer @刘涵)

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Century Bridge to Hainan in the south

You can enjoy the Haidian River at sunset

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Century Bridge in Hainan, photographer @光圈影像)

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When these rivers flow into the sea

The river is getting wider

Gradually merged with the sea

The roads are therefore facing greater challenges

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Shandong

It spans Jiaozhou Bay with a length of 42 kilometers

And with a unique sea interchange

Connect in multiple directions

(Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, photographer @陈肖)

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Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at the Pearl River Estuary

The 55-kilometer-long river stretches across the Lingdingyang

Stretching over the boundless sea

It seems to lead to an unknown new world

(Please watch in horizontal screen, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, photographer @黄昆震)

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So far

The majestic mountains and the endless waters

China's highways are all under control

However, China is so big

More than just landscapes

III

Meet Vientiane

From the coast to the inland

Different degrees of dryness and wetness

This creates a completely different vegetation landscape

They are embedded between mountains and waters

Decorating the land of China in another dimension

In areas with abundant rainfall

There are 2.204 million square kilometers of forests

Forests along the Dajinshan Ring Road in Longyan, Fujian

Lush

The road winds freely through the green sea of ​​trees

(Forest area data from the National Bureau of Statistics; Dajinshan Ring Road in Longyan, Fujian, photographer @陈永诚)

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The forest deep in the Qinling Mountains

Colorful

The winding road in Qinling Mountains is like a fish swimming in the water

From south to north, sometimes visible and sometimes invisible

(Forest in the Qinling Valley and National Highway 210, photographer @李文博)

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As precipitation decreases inland

Trees cannot survive on a large scale

3.928 million square kilometers of grassland replaced forests

Highways in Tekes, Xinjiang

Across the lush green grassland

The lush greenery makes you feel relaxed and happy

(Grassland area data from the National Bureau of Statistics; Z793 Highway from Tekes to Qiongkushitai Village in Xinjiang, photographer @郑菲元)

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Highway in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia

Crossing the grasslands with herds of cattle and sheep

The cattle and sheep in the wilderness are contented

(Grassland in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, photographer @石耀臣)

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In the arid areas

Annual precipitation is less

The earth is vast

This is a desert world with an area of ​​1.146 million square kilometers.

Taklimakan Desert Highway

Moving forward fearlessly in the endless desert

(Here, desert refers to deserts and Gobi. The area data comes from the "Atlas of Chinese Deserts" compiled by the State Forestry Administration and the "Encyclopedia of Geology" compiled by Sun Honglie et al.; the picture below shows a road in the Taklimakan Desert, the picture source is @Changguang Satellite)

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Qaidam Basin Gobi Highway

Like a sharp arrow piercing a willow tree in the vast Gobi Desert

(Please watch in horizontal mode, National Highway 215 in the Gobi Desert of Qaidam Basin, photographer @wzkdream)

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In addition to the natural power of mountains, rivers and vegetation

Many man-made landscapes

It also connects the scenery of China's highways

More diverse

Highways in Jingxi, Guangxi

Across the golden farmland

(Please watch in horizontal mode, farmland in Jingxi, Guangxi, photographer @黄国清)

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Highway in Liping, Guizhou

Passing through the terraced fields in Yunlin

(Tang'an Terraces in Liping, Guizhou, photographer @ )

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Highways in Yongding, Fujian

Traveling through the historical charm of the earthen building

(Tulou in Yongding, Fujian, photographer @陈永诚)

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Beijing-Tibet Expressway

The modern atmosphere of wind turbines

(Please watch in horizontal mode, a group of windmills passing by the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, photographer @尹绍哲)

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There are more famous

or nameless road

Traveling through China's cities and villages

(Photographer @江南君 of Hangzhou Qiushi Elevated Road)

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(Rural scene in Jinhua, Zhejiang, photographer @赵高翔)

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From mountains to rivers and seas

From forest to desert

From the city to the countryside

China's highways connect thousands of landscapes and colors

Showing the all-encompassing qualities

When we look back at the history of China's highway construction

You will find

China's highways are more than just scenic corridors

IV

Connecting the past to meet the future

At the beginning of the founding of New China in 1949

China's highway mileage is only about 80,000 kilometers

After more than 70 years of efforts by generations of road builders

China's highways have not only overcome various engineering difficulties

Not only through the colorful landscape

It covers every corner of the border.

(The Karakoram Highway between mountains and rivers, photographer @吴宏坤)

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Extending to every checkpoint

(Karakoram Highway to Khunjerab Pass and China-Pakistan border, photographer @小强先森)

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It has become a channel for material transportation and the lifeline of national defense.

(Military vehicles on National Highway 317, photographer @曹铁)

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also

China's highways have also become

People's inseparable way of life

(Kunming Second Ring Road South, photographer @wzkdream)

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Become the foundation of economic development

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is under construction, with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Yangtze River Expressway in the foreground, photographer @林建玲)

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This is a great testimony to China's rise

It is also the bright future of China.

(China Resources Building, with Shenzhen Bay Bridge in the distance, photographer @Gong Qiang)

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From 80,000 km

To 5 million km

China's highways from roads for the few

Walking into a group of people's path

Now it has become everyone's path

(Explorers fearlessly moving forward in the Gobi Desert, image source: China Resources Group's image film "The Road to Finding the Way")

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China has 5 million kilometers of highways.

Will continue to extend and continue to shine

Because China's road builders also believe

“It’s not that we choose to set out only when we see the beauty.

It’s only when you walk forward that you can see the beauty.”

Tens of millions of Chinese roads

It is a thousand kinds of beautiful scenery

(National Highway 318 in Shigatse, vehicles on the road are moving forward, photographer @Greatwj)

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This article was created by

Written by | Ding Hao

Picture | Grateful Heart

Design | Wang Shenwen

Map | Chen Zhihao

Review | Quasimodo by the River Wang Kun Chen Jingyi

Photographer of the cover image | Li Yongxin, Ashi, Li Junbo, Zhang Shiyu

Cover Photographer | Chen Xiaoyang

Credit: Changguang Satellite

Planetary Research Institute

Deconstruct everything in the world and explore the ultimate world

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