China National Highway 219

[Randy W]

We tried to take the G219 highway from Detian Falls to Pingxiang (where the Friendship Pass is located), but were told it's pretty undriveable. So we stuck with the toll roads through Chongzuo, after visiting Mingshi - a little tourist town where you take a bamboo raft to get to the village. Most people arrived via buses which are there to pick you up at the village exit. We had to hitch a ride with some employees back to the parking lot.

This was on a 2013 visit.

Google doesn't even show it as G219, but call it 325 Provincial Rd. 

Quote

[#GuangxiSanyuesanFestival]
The National Highway 219 is the most beautiful road for self-driving tours in #China, which runs through Friendship Pass（友谊关）, Mingshi Village（明仕田园）, Detian Waterfall（德天瀑布）, and leads to #Yunnan. It's the best choice to ramble around by car. #Oscars #ChloeZhao #Nomadland #Guangxi

from Discover Guangxi China on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/102422654663773/posts/296866321886071/

You can see from the map that G219 would have been a fairly tortuous road, although I expect it would have been very scenic.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Some pictures from Detian and Pingxiang, although I never posted any from Mingshi.

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/45352-from-yulin/?do=findComment&comment=604514

Well, okay, here's a couple.

[Randy W]

This is the entire G219 route according to Wikipedia, but apparently only the part from Tibet up to Kashgar is actually usable. The part I posted earlier is barely visible next to Vietnam.

China National Highway 219

China National Highway 219 (G219) is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. At over 10,000 kilometres (6,214 mi) long, it will be the longest National Highway once completed.

Former G219
Before 2013, G219 ran from Yecheng (Karghilik) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to Lhatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It was 2,342 kilometers long.

Construction of this road was started in 1951. It was completed in 1957. The road passes through disputed area of Aksai Chin, an area administered by the People's Republic of China but also claimed by India, and its construction was one of the triggers for the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Originally made of gravel, it was fully paved with asphalt in 2013.[citation needed]

As one of the highest motorable roads in the world, the breathtaking scenery of Rutog County also ranks as some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. Domar township—a town of concrete blocks and nomad tents—is one of the bleakest and most remote outposts of the People's Liberation Army at the edge of the Aksai Chin. Near the town of Mazar many trekkers turn off for both the Karakorum range and K2 base camp. Approaching the Xinjiang border, past the final Tibetan settlement of Tserang Daban is a dangerous 5,050-meter-high pass. Tibetan nomads in the area herd both yaks and two-humped camels. Descending through the western Kunlun Shan, the road crosses additional passes of 4,000 and 3,000 meters, and the final pass offers brilliant views of the Taklamakan Desert far below before descending into the Karakax River basin.

[Randy W]

🎨🏔🏝Tibetan landscape along the state road G219！！ #Tibet #lansdscape
G219

PicturesAboutTibet: Tibetan landscape along the G219 highway ent

The G219 is the longest road around the Chinese border. The Tibetan section covers the entire spectrum of landscapes on Earth in the cold zone, cold moderate zone, moderate zone, subtropical zone and tropical zone, and forms a natural geographical landscape alley.

It connects the Himalayas as the most majestic mountains in the world, Qomolangma as the highest mountain, the ecological secret of Mêdog as the richest biodiversity, and the Yarlung-Zangbo Gorge as the deepest gorge, and unites natural and geographical surface elements such as mountains ets, rivers, forests, lakes, meadows, deserts and glaciers.

Driving through the Tibetan section of the G219, you will experience the visual transformation of glaciers and snow-covered mountains into rivers and lakes, from deserts to forest steppes, and from alpine valleys to rural idylls. Every look and every encounter with the geographical landscape is a highlight.

Source: Tsering Norbu by people. cn

https://www.facebook.com/ChinaTibetOffiziell/posts/pfbid0m3MqoG7PXK9Pripsq4LM1QxdwLA4mFu7zSozy8ZDEi337x97SP7aYd4LNvL4Vk3ql