Let’s go! Cross China’s longest National Highway 219

According to the latest version

National Highway Network Naming and Numbering

National Highway 219 is based on the original Xinjiang-Tibet Highway.

Expanded to about 10065km

It reaches Kanas in Xinjiang in the north and Dongxing in Guangxi in the south

Winding along China's western border

It is currently the longest national highway in China.

It runs from the mountains to the sea

Across countless snow-capped peaks in western China

Countless canyons and lakes

Connecting countless villages and towns in western China

Countless styles, countless years

The most majestic on earth

10,000 km

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the full map of the super-long landscape of National Highway 219; in order to fully and uninterruptedly display the curved National Highway 219 within the fixed width of the mobile phone, we decided to use a special method to "straighten" it so that everyone can see it in its entirety. Map by @陈志浩&王申雯/Planet Research Institute)

▼

Crossing National Highway 219

You will find that these 10,000 kilometers

Carrying too much

It is a road to heaven

It is the road of all rivers and the road of all living beings.

It is also a border defense road

I

The Road to Heaven

China's Geographical Pattern

It descends step by step from west to east

The West

Occupies the most majestic body in China

National Highway 219 winds around here

Cross several huge mountain ranges with thousands of years of snow

Almost all of the western part of my country

Important mountain ranges

include

Most of them are above 4000m above sea level.

Tianshan

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Tianshan Mountain connected to the sky, photographer @文兴华)

▼

The average altitude is over 5500m

Karakoram Mountains

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the majestic Karakoram Mountains, photographer @杨柳松)

▼

The average elevation of the main ridge

The King of Mountains at 6000m

Himalayas

(Please watch in horizontal mode. The Himalayan peaks piercing the sky are all marked as peaks above 7000m. Photographer: @行影不离; marked: @行影不离&王申雯&陈志浩)

▼

Hengduan Mountains

Altai Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, etc.

Like a huge wall across the west

Become a barrier along the way

then

National Highway 219

Circling on the mountain

(A mountain pass along National Highway 219; a mountain pass is a depression between mountains, also known as a "pass" or "pass", photographer @陈建平)

▼

Winding on the frozen ground

(Heikazi Pass on National Highway 219 is 4909 meters above sea level, photographer @小强先森)

▼

Traveling in the snow

(Mazada Pass on National Highway 219 is 4969m above sea level, photographer @小强先森)

▼

Total climb

Nearly 20 passes with an altitude of more than 4,000m

The harsh environment

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau section is the most

It's cold and oxygen-deficient here

There is frozen soil thawing and slope collapse

The construction process was extremely difficult

Located in the last county in the country to be connected by road

Medog Highway in Medog, Tibet

It has undergone more than 50 years of transformation.

Just announced the opening

(The Pai-Mo Highway on National Highway 219 has not yet been opened. The picture below shows the Za-Mo Highway, the first highway leading to Medog. Photographer: @马春林)

▼

Thanks to

The efforts of generations of builders

This 10,000-kilometer road

Gradually unfolding before the world

Mountains along the way

Or sacred, or beautiful, or extreme

Then came the oncoming

Mount Kailash at 6656m

Ancient and holy

(Kang Rinpoche carries a "cross" on his back and is the "center of the world" in the hearts of many believers. Photographer @向文军)

▼

Mount Nanga Parbat at 7782m

Graceful

(Nanga Bawa is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. It is said that anyone who is lucky enough to see its true appearance will be blessed by the sacred mountain. Photographer @林语)

▼

Mount Everest at 8848.86m

Standing on top of the earth

(Please watch in horizontal mode, looking at Mount Everest from afar, photographer @南卡)

▼

From the sea to the mountains

Along National Highway 219

High altitude and dangerous road

The best in the world

China deserves it

The Road to Heaven

II

The Road of Ten Thousand Waters

Tall mountains

It is also a barrier to water vapor

They traveled from the surrounding oceans.

Rushing into the embrace of the mountain

And form long-lasting ice and snow

Accumulation of glaciers

Along National Highway 219 and nearby mountains

All covered with ice and snow

(Qudeng Nima Glacier in Tibet, photographer @善友)

▼

Glaciers

(The Yebokangal Glacier on Shishapangma Peak, about 30km from National Highway 219, photographer @赣州七爷)

▼

Known as the "Roof of the World"

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The ice reserves can even fill 114 Three Gorges reservoirs.

It is called the western part of China

"Frozen Planet"

(Display of glacier distribution along National Highway 219, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute; base map photographer @山风)

▼

These glaciers

Like a frozen river

As it melts and flows downward

Additional surface precipitation

and groundwater, etc.

Rushing all the way

Several major rivers in western China

Including Lancang River

(The winding Lancang River, photographer @李珩)

▼

Nujiang River

(The First Bay of Nujiang River in Bingzhongluo, Yunnan, photographer @邓飞)

▼

and the Yarlung Zangbo River

Irtysh River, Tarim River, etc.

All originated from this

(The Kanas River flowing through the forest is very dreamy, photographer @Hao Pei)

▼

They tear the earth apart

Sculpting in basins, plateaus and mountains

On National Highway 219

Showing the colorful landscape of the West

Like a braid-shaped water system

(Tibet Dingjie braided water system, photographer @于海童)

▼

Like uneven terraces

(Terraces on both sides of the Lancang River, photographer @李小糖)

▼

Like a magnificent canyon

There are dozens of famous

Located in the heart of the Hengduan Mountains

Nujiang Grand Canyon

and one of the deepest and longest land canyons in the world.

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon

All included

(Overlooking the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon from the plane, photographer @行影不离)

▼

besides

Those water systems with less erosion

Either gradually disappear or gather into a lake

Entrenched in western China

Formed a huge scale

Plateau mountain lakes

Here are

One of the four major boundary lakes in China

Pangong Tso

(Pangong Lake is located at the border between China and Indian-controlled Kashmir, photographer @向文军)

▼

Over 5,000 meters above sea level

Pumoyongcuo

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the vast Pumoyongcuo, photographer @阿五在路)

▼

The largest freshwater lake at high altitude

Lake Manasarovar

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Manasarovar is as blue as a gem, photographer @张振启)

▼

Sailimu Lake

Kanas Lake and other places are fascinating

National Highway 219

Like a long string of beads

String them together

Shining with the glory of the earth

The relatively low-lying

Yunnan and parts of Guangxi

Huge amounts of precipitation directly wash the surface

Dissolved carbonate rock

Formation of ground fissures, tiankengs, peak clusters, etc.

Karst landform

Raging River

If you encounter a cliff and rush out

A waterfall is formed

Detian Waterfall on the China-Vietnam border

The widest part is more than 200 meters

Sound Shocks the Valley

So far

Glaciers, rivers, lakes, waterfalls

Together we created this

The Road of Ten Thousand Waters

The arrival of the living

It will also make it more colorful

III

The Road of Life

Horizontal distance

National Highway 219 spans nearly 30 degrees of latitude

Vertical distance

It also spans from 100m to 5500m.

Altitude difference

These two kinds of crossing

There are 7 climate zones along the way.

From the cold temperate zone

(Autumn in Kanas, Xinjiang, photographer @王宁)

▼

To warm temperate zone

(The yellow sand and oasis in the Tarim Basin, photographer @陈剑峰)

▼

To tropical and subtropical

(Tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna, photographer @何新闻)

▼

Rich climate types

Creating a paradise for life to thrive

34 biodiversity hotspots around the world

There are 4 located along the

(Sketch of global biodiversity hotspots, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planetary Research Institute)

▼

Even more shocking is

Climate change from tropical to temperate

In the Eastern Himalayas

Compressed into a horizontal distance of only 40 km

It's beyond imagination

(The rich scenery along the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, photographer @姜曦)

▼

Many plants

Along the mountains in different regions and at different altitudes

Thriving

Fir, birch, pine, willow, etc.

Standing tall

(Spruce trees in Xinjiang, photographer @Donkey达达)

▼

Snow lotus, pagoda yellow, snow rabbit, etc.

Blooming

(Tianshan Snow Lotus, photographer @张文静)

▼

Many animals

In a diverse ecological environment

Everyone has their own fun

On the plateau

Wild yaks, Tibetan antelopes, snow leopards

Tibetan fox, red fox, lynx, marmot (tǎ)

Manul, snow hare, vulture, etc.

Show wildness

(Tibetan antelopes running in Ali, Tibet, photographer @卡布)

▼

In the jungle

Asian elephants, gibbons, golden monkeys

Slow loris, sambar deer, leopard, leopard cat

Pied hornbill, green peacock, etc.

Quite mysterious

(The "Acrobatic" Gibbon; the Gibbon was named in 2017, photographer @赵超/Yunshan Conservation)

▼

Every kind of living being

All of these make National Highway 219 even more unique

It is the ultimate display of ecological diversity along the route.

There are even unnamed species

Discovered by explorers

It can be called the Western China

The Road of Life

IV

Border Road

From a more macro perspective

National Highway 219

Connecting to western China

About 90 counties

(The above data includes county-level cities and urban districts; the picture below is Chentang Town, Shigatse, Tibet, photographer @李珩)

▼

Next to

China’s 13 land neighbors to the west

It is the longest in China.

Border Road

(Neighboring countries along National Highway 219 include Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam; the picture below is the China-Pakistan Highway, photographer @小强先森)

▼

The border it crosses

Suffered many times

Even became a battlefield of aggressive war

After the founding of New China

China has a history of borders without defense

Finally declared the end

(Kangxiwa Martyrs Cemetery is the highest martyrs cemetery in China, located next to National Highway 219, photographer @Kahara_華)

▼

In the desert, in the rainforest, in the snowfield

The soldiers used their sincerity

Built an impregnable national defense

This mission

In the harsh environment of the western frontier

It seems particularly difficult

The highest Heweitan outpost in China

Frozen all year round

Animals rarely set foot on

Shenxianwan Outpost, the westernmost point in China

Strong winds

The temperature difference between day and night can reach more than 30 degrees

This 10,000-mile border

Because the "border guards" day after day

Guardian from generation to generation

It has become a stable life for countless people.

Solid protection

As the country stabilizes

and the improvement of national strength

The western region, which was once relatively underdeveloped

Start to radiate vitality again

New border trade port

Continuously open

(Guangxi Pingxiang, on the China-Vietnam border, has two national first-class ports, Youyiguan Port and Pingxiang Port. Photographer: @廖睿杰)

▼

New border trade city

Thriving

(The lights are bright at the Horgos Port in Xinjiang, photographer @赖宇宁)

▼

New outlook on life

Earthshaking

(The Jinghong Night Market in Xishuangbanna is bustling with people, photographer @李昌华)

▼

National Highway 219

It is an extremely important part

It is along the way

Other national roads, provincial roads, and rural roads

Forming the western part of China

aorta

(The Guozigou Bridge near National Highway 219 is the highest bridge in Xinjiang, photographer @赖宇宁)

▼

People flow through this

(The pasture road beside the national highway is convenient for the transfer of cattle and sheep in different seasons. Photographer @赖宇宁)

▼

Materials are transported here

(A truck running in the mountains, photographer @杜鹏飞)

▼

The connection between the West and China and the world

Will be closer

The country's border defense strength

It also becomes more prominent

Ⅴ

end

It is foreseeable that

National Highway 219

In the future, it will become the second highway after National Highway 318.

Another one in the hearts of the people

Miracle Road

at the same time

It also highlights the western part of China

Thousands of years of vicissitudes

It is a cultural corridor

An ancient civilization buried in the wilderness

(The Guge Dynasty established in the Tibetan river valley left behind a vicissitudes of the royal city, photographer @丁俊豪)

▼

The epic of the Silk Road

Extremely devout religious beliefs

(Kajiu Temple in Shannan, Tibet in the mist, photographer @李毅恒)

▼

Colorful architectural treasures

(The Kizil Caves in Xinjiang are the earliest and most western large cave complex in China. The picture below shows the Kizil Caves in Xinjiang and the murals inside the caves. Photographer: Li Wenbo & Qiu Menghan)

▼

and more than 30 ethnic minorities

Exotic

(The traditional sheep-grabbing competition is held every New Year’s Day in Hemu Village, northern Xinjiang. Photographer: @射虎)

▼

All along the way

Countless people who love the beautiful mountains and rivers

Fascinated

It is hard for us to imagine

On the far western frontier

There are hundreds of border trade ports

Day and night operation

(The Khunjerab Pass is adjacent to Pakistan, photographer @Ren Jialing)

▼

It’s hard for us to imagine

Even in "peaceful times"

There are still countless people rushing to the desert and mountains

Even sacrifice life

Just to protect the land under our feet

(Border guards riding war horses, photographer @赖宇宁)

▼

It is even harder for us to imagine

In today's world where transportation is as dense as a network

Many places here

The first highway has just arrived

More people

You can get out of the mountains from here

There are more people

You can come here to learn about them

(Patrol soldiers under the cover of night, moving forward all the way, photographer @李含军)

▼

This is the most majestic thing on earth.

10,000 km

Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, crossing the paradise of life

Traveling through the endless years

Connect to the past

One point to the future

This article was created by

Written by | Zhou Xidong

Photo | Pan Chenxia

Design | Wang Shenwen

Map | Chen Zhihao

Proofreading | Fengzi & Wang Kun & Gong Xiangjie & Lao J

Planetary Research Institute

Deconstruct everything in the world and explore the ultimate world

···The End···