The Highest Highway in the World: China Opens the "Sky Road"

Last Saturday, the highest highway in the world, known as the "Sky Road," was opened between the city of Nyingchi and Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region of southwestern China, with the last section of 227 km between Nyingchi and Yangbajing inaugurated, according to Xinhua News Agency citing the Chinese Ministry of Transport. The Nyingchi-Lhasa Expressway, which spans 295 km and has an average elevation of over 4,500 meters, is part of the highway that connects Beijing to Lhasa. It is the first expressway linking Lhasa to the northern Tibetan pastures. The operation of this new route will shorten the travel time by car between Lhasa and Nyingchi to three hours instead of more than six hours. A ministry official stated that this will significantly increase transportation capacity and improve safety in the corridor linking Tibet with Qinghai Province in northwestern China. The section of the highway connecting Yangbajing and Lhasa opened to traffic in October 2020.