Tibet Self-Drive Tour Day 8: Traversing the Death Zone of Tongmai Danger

Lupco—Rijian (Naxi Ancient City)—Shangri-La (Central Tibetan Autonomous Region) (Daxia)—Napa Sea (Ila Grassland)—Dekyil—Yaitingping—Mangkang—Zogang—Bandar—Baxiuk—Ranwu—Pomia—Tongmai—Linzhi

Lupco—Rijian 190km

Rijian—Zogang 145km

Zogang—Dekyil 152km

Dekyil—Yaitingping 103km

Yaitingping—Mangkang 111km (intersects with the 318 National Road south line)

Mangkang—Zogang 159km

Zogang—Bandar 107km

Bandar—Baxiuk 94km

Baxiuk—Ranwu 90km

Ranwu—Pomia 129km

Pomia—Tongmai 89km

Tongmai—Linzhi 127km

On June 16th at 12:30 PM, departing from Pomia at 12:50 PM to Garang Lake; 3:00 PM to Tongmai. 7:10 left Tongmai Sky Danger (Pariang), arrived at Ronglia. 8:00 arrived in Linzhi.

Tongmai 14km cliff danger, we walked for four hours.

Tongmai Sky Danger, also known as Pariang Sky Danger. This area is known as 'the world's second largest mudstone flow group'. The road along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway south line has sparse soil and is surrounded by snow mountains and rivers, so mudslides and collapses are easy to occur after rain or snow melt, so Tongmai and Pariang are called 'death zones'. There are always military police guarding this road.

Tongmai Bridge is the throat project of the 318 National Road. The bridge is designed as a double-tower double-span suspension bridge, crossing the Palong Yellow River and Lancang River.

On April 9, 2000, a major landslide occurred in Yigong, Zibo, especially after the breach of the Yigong Lake due to the collapse of the dam, the Tongmai, Baxiuk and Linzhi counties with more than 90 townships became isolated islands.

The current Tongmai Bridge is a temporary engineering project for ensuring traffic. The completion of this bridge has enabled the 318 National Road to be reopened. Now Tongmai Bridge has troops stationed, and soldiers with full gear guard both ends of the bridge. Each vehicle passing through the bridge is carefully monitored, and vehicles passing through the bridge can feel the suspension cable trembling.

The terror of Tongmai Sky Danger, I had known about it before entering Tibet, and I didn't realize the road conditions were much worse than expected. This area is known as 'Tongmai Cemetery'. Perhaps the most dangerous place is the safest, because Master Wind was so careful to let our car move to the side, we heard a 'bang' sound, the chassis was hung, we were worried that the fuel tank was scratched. I used a stick to pick up a little bit of a nose-spike and sniffed, it turned out to be AC water, a big scare.

During the road, our car encountered a cyclist. Master Wind was so careful to let our car move to the side, we heard a 'bang' sound, the chassis was hung, we were worried that the fuel tank was scratched.

The most dangerous thing was the third time. When the car was at the front during the passing lane, the road was being repaired, the slope was steep and the sand was loose, the car skidded, and the following vehicles followed closely. Our car climbed to the half-slope and couldn't climb, so three of us pushed the car down. I looked back, and the following vehicles were very close. We could only push the car together. Fortunately, Master Wind accelerated, and we all went up quickly, but the dust raised by us covered everyone, and the following friends laughed to pieces. It was Master Wind who was a little nervous, I just opened the car door and hadn't even gotten in, he started moving, and I almost fell into the river.

The road itself is difficult to walk, and there are local drivers who overtake. They cover the road with dust raised by the front cars, we can't see the road at all, we just move forward along the rear lights of the front car. We all commanded Master Wind. I saw the rear lights of the front car turn left, I shouted to turn left, but it didn't turn left, if Master Wind listened to me, he would fall into the river. At this time, everyone didn't panic, but they laughed and joked.

It was really funny that Master Wind was driving, playing music 'I'll wait for you for so long' and reciting the lyrics with voice and color. Some people said her face was in pain from laughing. I sat in the back seat, and there was no heartbeat at all, my body was swaying, but my heart was calm. We were lucky to come through.

When we arrived at Ronglia, we saw the first guesthouse, we stopped to ask if there were accommodations.

This is a tea house, the space inside is very large, with a lot of wooden tables and benches, the interior is relatively dark, there are many Tibetans drinking tea. I asked 'are there accommodations?' and the tea guests all looked at me, showing their teeth and smiling. I was a little scared. A young man came over and took me to see the house. Accommodation conditions were very poor, but I knew that Master Wind was very tired and couldn't go on. We reluctantly stayed for one night. Dinner was just noodles, and it had a greasy aroma. Our companions didn't like it, and I and Master Wind swallowed it all.

That night, we wanted to use sleeping bags, but we didn't bother to open them, we just used the bedding in the guest house and slept very soundly.

The next day, we heard that there were still a lot of guests at night, and we didn't even know about it.

From Ronglia to Linzhi, this road is very suitable for cycling and hiking.

4728

“”