[Double Fire Series] Zhangmugou: 318 walks to the end of the cliff

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Format: Houri Wong

Cartography: You Zi

When traveling in Tibet, novices always go to the popular snow mountain holy lake 318. Experienced travel friends will go to various “wrong” trips, but the real old drivers know that the essence of Tibet is all in the “ditch”. “Where there is a ditch, there must be fire”, old drivers Xiaobaicai, Guangou, Tibet, let’s go together!

Tens of millions of years ago, the earth’s crust around Tibet changed in a way of tearing and squeezing. The development of faults squeezed out the towering holy mountains and left a gully that gave birth to the holy lake and humanity. Take the Himalayas as an example. Its wall separates the Indian subcontinent and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but five gaps were forcibly “cut”.

Chentanggou, Yadonggou, Garmagou, Zhangmugou, Jilonggou, five vertical gullies from north to south, form five paradises known as one of the ten most beautiful landscapes in the world. If the scenery of the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is similar, then these ditches are definitely the essence of the Himalayan landscape. The fourth stop of the “Goo must be on fire” series, head to Zhangmugou!

<Swipe the picture to see the Wugou first>

Zhangmugou is located on the southeast side of Xishapangma Peak in Nyalam County, Tibet, my country, with a total area of ​​more than 68 square kilometers. It is located on the slope of the valley at the southern foot of the middle section of the Himalayas. It is a typical alpine canyon landform. Ridge, backed by the Himalayas, facing the trumpet-shaped valley.

The picture comes from “China National Geographic”

Zhangmugou is dominated by natural forest landscapes. The warm and humid air from the Indian Ocean keeps Zhangmu in a subtropical climate all year round. The warm and humid environment provides good conditions for the development of mountain forests.

Therefore, the altitude of Zhangmugou has fluctuated by more than 1,000 meters within a short distance of 30 kilometers. The vegetation distribution has rapidly transitioned from semi-arid alpine meadows to subtropical humid mountain forests. The vegetation landscape is very different and distinct.

Once National Highway 318, the landscape avenue of the Chinese people, passes through the arms of the Himalayas, against the background of deep gullies and steep cliffs everywhere, the national highway is as thin as a ribbon, softly sticking to the waist of the mountains . The 15-kilometer section from the south of the 70th class to the mountain pass on the west side of Zhangmu Town is the narrowest section with the steepest slope in the entire Zhangmu Valley. When a certain Ministry stationed in Tibet built the road, it paid a heavy price on this section.

For such a highway that spans more than half of China, most people’s understanding of it often ends in Lhasa. As everyone knows, after leaving Lhasa, there is a place on the remote Sino-Nepalese border, under the Himalayas, and that is the real destination – Zhangmugou.

Here is a video of the China-Nepal border section in Zhangmugou, it is so exciting to watch——

Zhangmugou, which is famous for its “318” national highway, is also bustling and prosperous as Tibet’s largest foreign trade port. Zhangmugou can be regarded as the narrowest of the five Himalayan valleys (Zhangmugou, Jilonggou, Yadonggou, Chentanggou, Karmagou).

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Deep into the peaks and mountains of Zhangmugou

Zhangmugou is in Nyalam County, so the starting point of Zhangmugou is from here. We drove further into Zhangmugou to enjoy the mountain landscape along the way.

Nyalam County: “Road to Hell” is the starting point of Zhangmugou

Nyalam is the transportation hub of National Highway 318 and the starting point of Zhangmu Valley, 42 kilometers away from Zhangmu Town. Nyalam means the neck of an elephant in Tibetan, and it is translated into “road to hell” in Chinese. Throughout the ages, the complex geographical and topographical conditions have restricted the beautiful yearning of the people there, and no matter how much hardship, it is a lackluster ending. After the establishment of the county government in 1960, there was no substantial development, and the “Road to Hell” became the main passage from Tibet to the South Asian continent and a very lively place.

Nyalam County has beautiful scenery and is known as the only city in the country that exclusively enjoys a mountain above 8,000 meters above sea level (Shishapangma Peak) that completely belongs to China. Indeed, Nyalam is surrounded by Himalayan mountains, with several peaks over 7,000 meters in the east, Chajiong Peak and Juebu Peak with an altitude of over 6,000 meters in the southwest, and Shishapangma Peak with an altitude of 8,012 meters in the northwest.

Northwest Slope of Mount Everest: Ganga Wetland and Gucuo Village are good viewpoints

Going deep into Nyalam County, there are many excellent scenic spots to watch the northwest slope of Mount Everest. Not only can you observe, but you can also appreciate the strange local scenery. The Gangga Wetland located in Nailong Township, Nyalam County and Gangga Town, Dingri County in the southeast is the source. The altitude here is more than 4500 meters. It is the place to watch Cho Oyu, Mount Everest and wetland landscapes.

Another scenic spot is on National Highway 318, called Gucuo Village. It is said that Gucuo Village was originally called Kucuo Village because of the high altitude and heavy production due to lack of oxygen. Nevertheless, it is a good place to see the northwestern slope of Mount Everest.

Shishapangma Peak: The highest mountain with deformation in the county

Mount Shishapangma is 8,027 meters above sea level, ranking 14th among the 14 8,000-meter-level peaks in the world, and it is also the only 8,000-meter-level peak that is completely in China. It is located in the middle of the Himalayas, about 120 kilometers southeast from Mount Everest. It is an 8,000-meter-level peak completely in Nyalam County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, and one of the famous peaks in the Himalayas.

This is the representative highest peak of the Himalayas passing through Nyalam County. It can be seen in most areas north of Nyalam County and Jirong County. There are valley glaciers, ice towers, and silver lights. Standing in the distance, you can see the scenery in the sun. Shishapangma Peak is covered with snow, majestic and majestic.

Tongla Mountain Pass: The top of Zhangmugou is actually a big slope

The Tongla Mountain Pass at an altitude of 5126 meters is an important traffic point in Nyalam County. The terrain of the mountain pass is gentle, but there are several peaks above 7,000 meters in the surrounding Himalayas. Therefore, devout people always pile up Mani stones facing the southern peaks and draw colorful prayer flags to express their awe of nature and the Himalayas.

Tongla Mountain Pass is located at the top of Zhangmugou. Unlike other mountain passes that pass through mountains and ravines, it is a large slope. Standing at Tongla Mountain Pass, people have a very wide field of vision. Except that the road has been submerged behind the long hills, the east, south, and west sides can see the sky at a glance: there is Cho Oyu Peak in the east, Zhangmu Valley in the south, and Xixi Mountain in the west. Xia Pang Ma Feng group.

Chajiong Peak: Located in Wenbu Township, Nyima County, Nagchu, Tibet

Chajiong Peak in Zhangmugoukou is one of the peaks in the Himalayas. It is located on the west side of Nyalam County, with an altitude of 6979 meters. Flying for the eagle, it can be seen that in the eyes of the former Tibetans, this sacred mountain also has an irreplaceable position.

Chajiong Peak stands at the mouth of Zhangmugou, and it is also one of the main snow mountains that provide water for the wave that flows through Zhangmugou. Below the peak is Nyalam County, where the cold air flow from the plateau and the warm and humid air flow northward from the Indian Ocean blend.

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Drive into Zhangmugou and witness the most dangerous 318

DRIVING INTO ZHANGMUGOU, WITNESSING THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF 318

The distance from Nyalam County to Zhangmu Town is 42 kilometers. It is a typical narrow and steep valley area, which is also called Zhangmu Valley by the local people. Zhangmugou is a clearly divided valley, and it is the best place to watch the meteorological wonders. However, the hot and humid air flow northward makes it often shrouded in fog, which increases the risk factor here.

Zhangmu Highway: the most fearful section of 318

National Highway 318 winding on the mountainside of Zhangmugou, also known as the China-Nepal Highway from Lhasa to Zhangmu Friendship Bridge, was first built in 1961 and completed in May 1965. Writer Zhao Chunjiang said, “The cliffs are thousands of feet high, and ghosts make people worry.” The image compares the steepness of the Zhangmugou section of National Highway 318.

▲The most distinctive section of Zhangmu Highway, you must drive under the waterfall

The 15-kilometer section from the south of the 70th class to the mountain pass on the west side of Zhangmu Town is the narrowest section with the steepest slope in the entire Zhangmu Valley. Before 2000, it was still a narrow and dangerous dirt road, and it took 4 hours to reach Zhangmu Town. Today, the national road here is a wide asphalt road with guardrails installed, winding straight down for 40 minutes to reach the destination.

Zhangmugou Water Vapor Channel: The Best Place to Watch Meteorological Spectacles

Walking into Zhangmugou, you will immediately feel a hot and humid air rushing towards your face. This is the special northward phenomenon of warm and humid air from the Indian Ocean in the Himalayan valley area. Zhangmugou is a clearly divided valley, which naturally becomes the best viewing place for meteorological wonders.

The phenomenon of Zhangmugou hot and humid air going north cannot be seen 24 hours a day, and only about 6 hours a day can be seen in the fog state. Usually at 12:00, it starts to move rapidly from camphor to Nyalam, and the fog concentration increases with time. The concentration is the highest around 16:00, and the visibility of the gully and Nyalam County is also reduced to the lowest. After 17:00, as the sunshine weakened, the pressure of the cold air in the glacier and snow-capped mountains increased, and the fog gradually decreased until it completely disappeared around 18:00.

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Zhangmu Town, the destination of 318

ZHANGMU TOWN, THE END OF 318

Passing through layers of clouds and fog, here is the end of National Highway 318 – Zhangmu Town. In Zhangmu Town, there is no flat land in sight, and every house in the town is built against the mountains. It feels quite like the mountain city of Chongqing. The only street here is National Highway 318 from Shanghai to Zhangmu Town, which passes through the middle of the town and connects with the China-Nepal Highway.

Zhangmu Town: A small border town after the earthquake

Zhangmu Town belongs to Nyalam County. It was called “Tajue Gabu” in ancient times. It means “adjacent port” in Tibetan. It is 2,300 meters above sea level. It is an important town and trading port from Tibet to Nepal. On the slope of the mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, there is very little flat land, the streets are narrow, there are many shops, and the flow of people is bustling.

In this small town full of South Asian style, a variety of cultures are integrated into it, and people of all races come and go. Walking through it, foreign pop music comes from the car stereo; strange faces of foreign people, people bargaining in various languages ​​and accents that they don’t understand at all, a scene of a prosperous town on the border. But it was destroyed by the earthquake in 2015, and it is still being rebuilt here.

Nepalese in Zhangmu Town: Foreigners who can speak Chinese

With the expansion and opening of Zhangmu Port, many Nepalese businessmen have directly brought their business to Zhangmu Town. The number of Nepalese people who go to Zhangmu Town accounts for a large proportion, mainly engaged in entrepot trade and retail and wholesale transactions of Indian and Nepalese native products. Ten years ago, shops in Nepal mostly resold military knives, watches, perfumes, thermos cups and Indian incense.

With the development of our country’s economy, such items are unsalable. Today, they are mainly Nepalese rice, fruits, handicrafts and other handmade products. The Nepalese who do business in Zhangmu Town use RMB. They do not speak Chinese or Tibetan, so body language and facial expressions have become their means of communication with the Chinese. After a long time, Nigerian merchants have been able to communicate with Chinese customers very smoothly and accurately.

Zhangmu Port Friendship Bridge: a bridge connecting trade between the two countries

There is still a distance of 9 kilometers from Zhangmu Town to Zhangmu Port. National Highway 318 runs from Zhangmu Town at an altitude of 2,300 meters all the way downhill to Zhangmu Port at an altitude of 1,750 meters. The busy China-Nepal border port also faces the problem of scarcity of flat land resources, that is, mainly wholesale and retail of small quantities of materials.

With decades of reform and opening up, the construction of the port has become regular, and the exchanges between the two sides have been close. After the opening and closing of the port at 10 o’clock every day, a large number of Nepalese people came to the Chinese side to buy supplies. The brokers carried the goods on their backs and moved forward in a hurry. The quiet mountain town suddenly became lively, and the busy day of Zhangmu Port began. However, after the earthquake, Zhangmu Port has been closed until now.

This milestone is still standing on the Friendship Bridge of Zhangmu Port. It is the last milestone of National Highway 318, which starts from Shanghai People’s Square and ends at the Friendship Bridge of Zhangmu Port. The number is 5388, a group of auspicious numbers. A milestone in Chinese sentiment.

This is the final destination of our entire trip to Zhangmugou. This string of numbers also entrusts the wishes of Chinese and Nepalese residents living in Zhangmu Town to rebuild their homes. Today’s Zhangmu Town, although it is inevitably dilapidated and empty in the process of reconstruction, but through the streets and alleys, you can still feel the prosperity of the past, and all the way through the mountains and glaciers, conquering the steep Zhangmu Highway, it can be said that it is really amazing Fake this trip.