From Yecheng in Xinjiang at an altitude of 1,360 meters to the Xinjiang-Tibet border at 5,397 meters, the over 1,100-kilometer-long "Xinjiang-Tibet Highway" crosses five mountains with altitudes exceeding 5,000 meters, earning it the title of "the highest-altitude road in the world." Gravel, heavy snow, headwinds, thin air, and even the elusive wolves and barren no-man’s-land all shroud it in a veil of mystery and danger. But it is precisely such a place, where even driving a car feels perilous, that cannot stop the wheels of cycling enthusiasts.
This summer vacation, two second-year graduate students, four graduating seniors from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and one graduate from Lanzhou University chose such a “grueling route,” spending 16 days cycling from Xinjiang to Shiquanhe in Tibet. “Compared to the desolate Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, the conditions of routes like the Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet highways, which have abundant supplies and numerous inns along the way, are simply too good,” said “yuanQ,” a female graduate student from Huazhong University of Science and Technology who returned to Wuhan early after completing the ride. Her skin had been tanned black during the journey, and her delicate fingers were covered with dead skin caused by the dry high-altitude winds. “Sleeping in Dead Man’s Valley, peeing at Jieshang Pass, and taking a bath in Bangong Lake—if you’ve done these, then you can truly say you’ve completed the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway.” She smiled as she flipped through her diary and told reporters about her and her companions’ “Xinjiang-Tibet adventure.”
youmezz's Weibo