Friendship Highway (China–Nepal)
| Friendship Highway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 806 km (501 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Lhasa, Tibet |
| To | Zhangmu, Tibet |
The Friendship Highway (also known as the China-Nepal Highway, Chinese: 中尼公路; pinyin: Zhongni Gonglu) is an 800-kilometre (500 mi) scenic route connecting the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, with the Chinese/Nepalese border at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge between Zhangmu and Kodari. It includes the westernmost part of China National Highway 318 (Shanghai-Zhangmu) and crosses three passes over 5,000 m (16,400 ft) before dropping to 1,750 m (5,700 ft) at the border.
The 2015 earthquakes in the region closed the highway and caused many evacuations.[1] By 2016, there were some repairs but trading on the route was not restored to pre-quake levels.[1]
Background
From Lhasa, the Friendship Highway follows the
From Shigatse, continuing west parallel to the Yarlung Tsangpo valley, the road passes
From Chapu near Lhatse, the Friendship Highway maintains the Hwy 318 route number and turns southwest and crosses the main Brahmaputra-Ganges divide at
Continuing southwest, the highway climbs over Lalung La (5,050 m (16,570 ft)) and crosses shortly after the
Scenery along the highway features important cultural monuments, the upper valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, vast grasslands and meadows, and mountain vistas including five of the world's highest peaks: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma as well as partially unexplored and unclimbed peaks east of Tong La reaching 7,367 m (24,170 ft) at Labuche Kang.
Gallery
See also
References
- ^ a b "Bordering on helplessness". Atavist. December 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- Dorje, Gyurme (1999). Tibet (3rd ed.). Bath, UK: Footprint. ISBN 1-903471-30-3.
- Chan, Victor (1994). Tibet Handbook: A Pilgrimage Guide. Moon Publications.
- Tibet map, Gizimap, Budapest, Hungary