“The road conditions in Tibet are much better than expected. We only took two days to travel from Qamdo and Nyingchi to Lhasa.” Not long ago, Mr. Huang drove his RV along National Highway 318 from Sichuan into Tibet. Although the Sichuan-Tibet highway section within the Tibet region is under construction, the driving experience was smooth throughout. He joyfully said, “I finally realized my dream of visiting Tibet after all these years.”
Since the beginning of this year, the Transportation Department of Tibet Autonomous Region has actively promoted the quality and renovation of access corridors to Tibet, ensured the smooth flow and emergency support of national and provincial main roads and popular self-driving tourist routes; deepened the construction of rural roads, enhanced transportation market supervision. The department has used a combination of measures to promote the integration of transportation and tourism, and striven to make the driving experience more comfortable for the vast majority of tourists, the journey more reassuring, deep exploration more satisfying, stops more heartwarming, and riding more worry-free.
Observation decks will be added along the tourist road
Since the beginning of this year, the transportation department in Tibet has actively promoted the improvement and renovation projects of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway's Tibet section, such as "72 Turns" Ba Su transit line, Mangkang transit line, Tian Tuo Village to Genyao Village section (renovation of the old road), disaster-affected areas and Yu Pu Township to Bo Mi section, among other projects. The construction of projects such as the Lhasa to Shigatse Expressway and the renovation project of the Xinjiang-Tibet section of National Highway 216 has been progressing in an orderly manner.
During the planning and construction process of these projects, the transportation department in Tibet has fully considered the tourism service function. Along the highways with abundant tourism resources and suitable conditions for sightseeing, facilities such as parking lots and observation decks have been appropriately added. The roads in and out of Tibet have been improving continuously, providing a more comfortable driving experience for tourists in Tibet. Before leaving Lhasa, Mr. Huang said, "The roads in and out of Tibet and those within Tibet are so good that I believe more and more tourists will choose to drive to Tibet in the future."
Frequent natural disasters and changeable climate in Tibet make tourists vulnerable to emergencies such as heavy rain and mudslides. Mr. and Mrs. Yang, who traveled from Guangdong to Tibet, encountered several instances of temporary road closures, but the roads were reopened for traffic after a few hours, allowing them to continue their journey.
Since the beginning of this year, the transportation department in Tibet has continuously increased efforts to ensure the smooth operation of roads in and out of Tibet, provincial and national highways within the region, and hot spots for self-driving tours. From January to July, the road departments in the region organized over 14,000 emergency personnel and deployed 5,543 pieces of machinery and equipment. They assisted and rescued over 11,000 vehicles and more than 22,000 individuals in distress. Road departments in various regions have increased personnel and material resources, working overtime to carry out emergency rescue and ensure that roads are not blocked for an extended period due to natural disasters or inclement weather, thus preventing tourists from being stranded for long periods of time.
"Four good rural Roads" bring in-depth Tours
"After the construction of the highway, our rural inn business in the deep mountains has been thriving," said Jimmy, the manager of the Qingchuang Hotel in Lebu Valley, Cuona City. He deeply feels the positive impact of rural road development on the tourism industry. The good road conditions of rural roads in Cuona not only facilitate the travel of farmers and herdsmen but also attract many tourists to experience the Tibetan customs in depth in the hinterland of the plateau.
Since the beginning of this year, the Transportation Department of the Tibet Autonomous Region has further promoted the construction of "four good rural roads" and deepened the reform of the management and maintenance system of rural roads. The authority for rural road construction has been delegated to accelerate the construction of rural roads in the entire region.
By the end of July, the rural road construction work of 49 new projects have started and 170 unfinished projects have resumed in the entire region. The goal is to add four more towns and 210 villages with hardened roads by the end of this year, with the rates of road connection within towns and incorporated villages reaching 95.55% and 82.53% respectively. Efforts are being made to provide reliable transportation guarantee for tourists in Tibet to engage in "deep travel" and rural tourism.
Supplies are provided in the service area
More efforts will be made to provide better service in terms of transportation in Tibet to make tourists feel more cared for. "All the services and items obtained by tourists who come to rest here are free of charge." The Tanggula Highway Service Area of Amdo County on National Highway 109 is located at an altitude of over 5200 meters on the plateau. It is operated and maintained by the 109th road maintenance and communication point of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, which has won the title of "the world's first road team". In two neat and bright houses in the service area, there are reserves of mineral water, instant noodles, drugs for altitude sickness, alcohol, as well as oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, charging equipment, and other supplies. Passengers and drivers passing by can use them for free.
This year, the Ministry of Transport of Tibet continued to strengthen the function of the highway service area as a “supply point for passengers and drivers”, providing those in difficulties with living and emergency supplies free of charge. The highway maintenance workers selflessly helped tourists repair vehicles. From January to July, 1.584 million passengers and drivers rested at the serve areas. A large number of tourists enjoyed warm and attentive service provided by the Ministry of Transport of Tibet.
When a travel blogger from the mainland to Ali, a city of Tibet province, was passing through Saga County, Shigatse City, he received hot water and other services for free and the enthusiastic help of maintenance staff in the service area of 216 National Highway Daqiong Road. He filmed what he saw and posted it on the video platform, to which gave many likes.
Passenger Cars are under Dynamic Supervision of Information Platform
To make it easier for tourists to travel, this year Department of Transport in the Tibet Autonomous Region and relative departments jointly launched a special campaign against the illegal vehicles, strengthened the investigation and rectification of road transport risks, strengthened the dynamic supervision of passenger vehicles relying on the information platform, and continued to standardize the operation of tourist passenger transport.
“We need to both ensure that passengers inside and outside the region can enjoy comfortable passenger services and that they can travel safely during their stay in Tibet.” Li Huaqiang, a member of the party committee and Deputy Director of the Department of Transport in the Tibet Autonomous Region, introduced that since the beginning of this year, the transport department of the region has taken strong measures to prevent and resolve the safety risks of tourist passengers’ transportation, resolutely curb the occurrence of major traffic accidents, and ensure the safety of people's lives and property. At present, 17 tourist passenger transport enterprises with more than 2,700 vehicles in the region have continuously improved their security and transportation services.
Going forward, the Ministry of Transport of Tibet will focus on the promotion and integration of transportation and tourism, spare no efforts to promote the construction of road transportation infrastructure, strengthen the smooth traffic flow on the roads, improve the accessibility of road networks, strengthen the safety supervision of transport market and control of service quality, enhance the level of safe operation and improve the quality of transport service for tourist passengers , as well as providing solid safeguard of transportation for high quality development of Tibet’s tourism.
Source from: China Transport News Network