Enter Tibet (12)
Thirteenth day
June 24, 2021.
After many days, I continue writing again.
This day’s itinerary is from Linzhi to Qamdo, staying at Ranwu Lake in Basu County.
Passing through Sejila Mountain, Lulang Forest Sea, Guxiang Lake, and Bomi. The total distance is 360 kilometers.
First of all, here are some beautiful pictures to entertain your eyes.
There are obviously more cars on National Highway 318 than on National Highway 317. When we meet on a narrow road, the one who gives way wins. Driving on the road, various road conditions always remind people of the classic sentence from "The Wandering Earth": There are thousands of roads, safety first.
At the intersection of the Himalayas and Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains, there is a Namjagbarwa peak with an altitude of 7782 meters. Namjagbarwa has many explanations in Tibet. One is "thunder and lightning burning like fire" ", one is "a spear piercing the sky". It is the 28th highest peak in the world. It is said that its huge triangular peak is covered with snow all year round and shrouded in clouds and mist, and is known as the "Paradise in the Clouds". In 2005, it was rated as the top ten most beautiful mountains in China by China's "National Geographic" magazine. It is said that the true face of Namjagbarwa Peak can only be seen for more than ten days every year. Because it is not easily shown to others, it is also known as the "Shameful Girl Peak" ".
Therefore, we did not get to see the beauty of Namjagbarwa Peak, but we still had to fight.
Looking up at Namjagbarwa Peak on one side, and the turbulent Yarlung Zangbo River on the other. The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is a canyon formed after the Yarlung Zangbo River cuts through the eastern section of the Himalayas in southeastern Tibet, China. It starts from Milin in the north. County Daduka Village, south to Basika Village, Medog County, most of the areas it crosses are uninhabited areas. From October to November 1998, China's Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Scientific Expedition Team trekked through the Grand Canyon for the first time. After precise measurements , it is concluded that the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon has a total length of 504.6 kilometers and an extreme depth of 6009 meters. From the length and extreme depth and other indicators, it is confirmed that the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon is the "world's largest canyon".
When I checked in, I didn’t know that this place was actually very close to the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon. I was just superficially excited and took pictures. Later I realized that we had missed a precious opportunity. Later, Brother Yang said, this is One of his three major regrets.
Snow-capped mountains, grasslands, yaks, such pure beauty seems to have lost the enthusiasm of taking photos when we first saw it. After seeing it for a long time, it seems to be meaningful.
Lulang Forest Sea: Lulang means "Dragon King Valley" in Tibetan. It is located in Lulang Town, Linzhi, known as "Snowy Switzerland". It is on National Highway 318 and is located in the deep mountains and old forests. , here, in addition to the dense bushes, there are spruce and pine trees, tall and lush, densely packed, "the young forest is lush and green, the mother forest is secluded", which is exciting and addictive, and also has a feeling that I dare not explore.
The pine flowers here also bloom with a different kind of beauty.
Meet another motorcyclist.
The poet Wang Xinjian has a poem describing the forest sea in Lulang: "The snow peaks are forested and the grass is verdant, and the green rain in the middle of the mountain is clear. The prayer flags by the stream clear my mind, and the sea of clouds and flower fields are heavy."
The weather can change rapidly. There is no hesitation, just change as you say, it is straightforward and natural.
Horses, are you accustomed to the unpredictable weather here?
Lulang Town, a construction aid project of Guangdong Province. When our group arrived here, there was no one around, only these clean buildings standing here.
"The painting draws a grand picture, and Guangdong and the sea connect with Tibet and Germany join hands to march towards Shambhala.
The glorious chapter continues the spring and autumn snowy fields, singing and dancing to express gratitude and build a new era of dreams."
Most of the time during this trip was spent in the car watching the scenery. In addition to watching the scenery, sleeping and taking pictures in the car.
In order to take pictures, I always sat in the passenger seat, which is also the most exposed position. After I came back from Tibet, I saw myself in the mirror. My skin was dry and dark, and I looked 10 years older.
But at that time, I felt that I didn’t know if I could come back again in this life. I cherished the scenery along the way, so I kept taking pictures. On the way back along 318, in the last few days, I seemed to have enough pictures, so I just took pictures. Gotta be a little less.
Traces of mudslides can be seen everywhere. Behind the beautiful scenery there are dangers, just like where there is light there is shadow, everything in the world contains yin and yang and dialectical unity.
Suddenly I thought of what Jung called the "shadow", which is the dark, repressed and undeveloped part of the personality that is incompatible with the values and lifestyle chosen by consciousness. Once the mudslides we see develop, will they surge down uncontrollably?
Polonggou Bridge.
Tibet’s longest span cable-stayed bridge, with a total length of 743 meters, is quite spectacular.
Palong Tsangpo River.
The Parlung Zangbo River is said to be the first of the five major tributaries of the Brahmaputra River and the tributary with the largest water volume. The Palong Zangbo water system is generally located in Bomi County, Nyingchi City. Because the two major rivers (Yigong Zangbo and the front section of Parlong Zangbo, namely "Bomi Zangbo") merge in Pailongmenba Township, Nyingchi County, it is called Parlong Zangbo.
The "Pailong, Palong, and Paolong" in the names of Pailong Township, Palong Tunnel, and Paolong Valley are actually just different transliterations.
The Parlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world in terms of depth, with a depth of 3555 meters, which is equivalent to 1.67 times that of the Grand Canyon of the United States (2133 meters deep), second only to the second largest canyon in the world. The Kaligandeg Grand Canyon in the Kingdom of Nepal (4,403 meters deep) exceeds the Colca Grand Canyon in Peru (3,200 meters deep).
Unfortunately, it was another Grand Canyon that we missed. At that time, we didn’t know about this Grand Canyon.
At that time, I was obsessed with Weiyu’s novel. On the way from Chengdu to Tibet, I passed by Qingcheng Mountain: Surprisingly, this is Si Teng’s hometown. The various magical events that happened in the Grand Canyon also made me full of expectations and yearning for the Grand Canyon in Tibet. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of them during this trip.
This sign with the words "Yigong Zangbo" was taken casually. I guess the purpose of taking the picture was to record the names of the places I passed by. It has been several months since I came back from Tibet. Writing unfinished travel notes has always been a concern, and I have to finish things from beginning to end. I sorted through the photos from that time again, and the pace slowed down, so I could slowly search for some places I had been to and passed by at that time. However, I walked through them unconsciously at that time. Now after searching online, I found out that a huge landslide that shocked the world occurred here 11 years ago.
Regarding this landslide, I found this description:
The Tibetans in Yigong Township were frightened by the earth-shattering sound. They ran out and saw a 3,000-meter mountain nearby. More than 1,000 meters of the mountaintop, which was more than 1 meter high, was cut off. Muds and rocks flowed all the way down, blocking the lower reaches of Yigong Lake. It is said that the amount of earth and rock that collapsed reached more than 300 million cubic meters, equivalent to 11 Three Gorges. Eleven Three Gorges earthworks rush down from the top of a 3,000-meter mountain. What is this concept? There are two results that can witness its momentum from the side:
During the collapse, the earth and rock flow wiped away all the covering soil and vegetation on the rock base, even the downward airflow They were all so powerful and powerful. After reaching the bottom of the valley, they continued to attack the mountains on the other side. Where the air flow passed, the trees on the hillside were neatly cut off, clearing a forest passage.
This earth-shattering blow also sealed the outlet of Yigong Lake. The water in the lake rose from 7 meters to more than 60 meters in three months. The Linzhi area mobilized all the excavation machinery to A drainage opening was dug in the collapsed earthen dam, but this was of no avail. Finally one day, the earthen dam collapsed, and the water from Yigong Lake poured down in an instant, rushing from an altitude of 2,700 meters to the Xiang River Basin in the Indian-occupied area of southern Tibet. (150 meters above sea level).
As a result, the Indian government complained to the United Nations that China was testing meteorological weapons upstream.
As we passed by, we had no idea of such an earth-shattering event that happened that year.
Perhaps this casual snap is a kind of subconscious memory. Perhaps there is also a wake-up call.
Tongmaite Bridge.
Tongmai Bridge is located at the intersection of Yigong Zangbo and Parlong Zangbo rivers.
The one flowing from north to south is Yigong Zangbo, and the river originates from Nagchu Jiali County; the one flowing from east to west is Palong Zangbo, and the river originates from Ranwu Lake in Qamdo.
When it comes to Tongmai, people who know it may immediately think of "Tongmai Natural Danger" and "Tongmai Cemetery", because this is the "second largest debris flow group in Asia", and the people who pass here The flow of people is much greater than that of Zhouqu County, Gansu Province, which is the "largest debris flow group in Asia", and the rate of natural accidents is much higher.
There used to be three Tongmai Bridges. The one we saw was the third one. The other two are basically abandoned.
The first one: a permanent reinforced concrete bridge built in the 1950s. It was washed away after the Yigongte landslide that shocked the world on April 9, 2000;
The second building: built after the landslide in 2000. In 2001, the bridge was handed over to the Fourth Traffic Detachment of the Tibet Armed Police for maintenance and management, and was also responsible for the protection of the bridge. Since the Tongmai Bridge is a chokepoint of National Highway 318, armed police are stationed at the bridge around the clock and photography is prohibited. Because it is a traffic-enhancing project, only one vehicle is allowed to pass through this bridge at a time. After several terrible bridge deck collapses occurred in 2013, the old bridge was restarted from August 2 to September 10, 2013. In 2015, the twin-tower and double-span bridge suffered another steel frame structural dislocation. Traffic was temporarily disrupted. The suspension bridge we see now is what it looked like after it collapsed in 2013. The earliest decks of the bridge were wooden boards, with steel plates laid behind. Now the bridge has completed its mission and has become a place for tourists to watch and take photos. . This bridge has been in operation for 16 years;
The third one: On November 29, 2015, the Tongmaite Bridge was opened to traffic.
The Tongmai natural barrier, known as the "Tongmai Cemetery", once made everyone who passed by this place tremble with fear. The more than 20 kilometers from Road 102 in Bomi County to Pailong Township was once the Sichuan-Tibet Line. It is generally considered the most dangerous "death section". Five years ago, the gentle winding dirt road could only accommodate one vehicle. The distance between the two sides was only nearly half a meter. On one side was a cliff with rocks falling from time to time, and on the other side was a 100-meter cliff. On April 13, 2016, the Polonggou Bridge, the last barrier to the Tongmai natural barrier, was also announced to be open to traffic. The Tongmai natural barrier was no longer there, the natural chasm became a thoroughfare, and the three bridges witnessed the disappearance of the "death section".
Today, there are five tunnels, including Tongmaite Bridge, Bilonggou Bridge, 102 Tunnel, Feishiya Tunnel, Xiaohuzui Tunnel, Palong No. 1 Tunnel, and Palong No. 2 Tunnel. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway's Tongmai Section with "Two Bridges" has reduced "Tongmai Natural Danger" to a "historical noun". The journey used to take 2 hours, but now it only takes 20 minutes.
Although it is no longer as scary as the "Tongmai Natural Danger" in the past, this area belongs to the southern zone of Tibet's Yigong National Geopark. It is located at the intersection of the Indian Ocean Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The geology is complex and active, and it is easy to There are unstable geological phenomena, and renovation and reconstruction have reduced the danger level of the route, but we should not take it too lightly.
Peace is the most important thing.