Infrastructure investment opens up remote Qinghai

Leaving Dunhuang at 7:30 am, the bus trundled into the desert, passing high sand mountains. We were on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan Desert. Had it not been for parallel stabilization techniques, I was sure nearby dunes could have encroached on the highway. That scene eventually gave way to extensive stretches of gravel spreading toward the Qilian Mountains. Highway 215 traversed what could easily be described as an ”empty quarter” where the only sign of human impact was the often deserted highway, as straight as an arrow, aiming toward a distant horizon. It was a land of incredible visibility, of cloudless and intensely blue big skies.

The route started climbing for an hour through many turns, passing frozen rivers before emerging onto a barren, empty plateau suggesting an almost lunar appearance. Bare of vegetation, exposed geology displayed a mosaic of rock formations and colors. Traversing a series of passes and basins, the bus halted several times. People would get off and start walking along tracks with their hefty sacks, but where were they heading?

Eight hours after departing Dunhuang, we pulled into the small town of Chaidanzhen, next to Da Qaidam Lake, for a late afternoon lunch break. An hour later, we were once more into high-altitude deserts, before following a ”salt highway”. The road for many kilometers stretched across extensive beds of salt, something I could taste on my lips.