Expressway puts isolated town on express growth

The expansion of road network has created a new economic path for an isolated town in China's southwestern region, bringing benefits to local residents and attracting tourists to boost the regional economy.

Tucheng town, which is located in Xishui county of Guizhou province's Zunyi city, is surrounded by mountains and situated along the Yangtze River's tributary Chishui River.

It used to be a major transfer hub to transport salt from Sichuan province to Guizhou via water.

Salt from Sichuan was shipped to Tucheng, unloaded at the port, piggybacked by people one bag at a time, and then transported to different places in Guizhou.

But now, the town has access to two freeways and the third one will open soon.

Tucheng Bridge, a part of the expressway linking Chengdu and Zunyi, runs above the town center. Beneath the bridge is the new main street of the town.

On the main street, buses and coaches pass in an endless stream, carrying tourists nationwide to visit museums featuring the Red Culture.

The town was the battlefield where the Red Army, predecessor of the People's Liberation Army, defeated Kuomintang in 1935.

With abundant Red tourism resources, the development of road network has attracted visitors to the town.

Wang Gang and his colleagues from Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, chose Tucheng for their one-day excursion.

A one-way journey took them about 3 hours. But a decade ago, a trip from Guiyang to Tucheng usually took up to 8 hours.

Due to COVID-19, Wang's group preferred not to stay overnight.

As for traffic, they chose Tucheng, which is at the intersection of two expressways, where the main street connects Siduchishui Memorial Museum, Women Red Army Museum and Qinggangpo Heritage Park, allowing tourists spend to one day immersing in Red Culture.