Lhasa-Nyingchi is the highest highway in the world

The new Lhasa-Nyingchi Highway, the longest high-grade highway in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, is one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

Lhasa-Nyingchi highway

The two-way, four-lane road is totally paved and provides a major boost to transport links and tourism in the region. This new high-altitude road was started in 2013, and opened in September 2018. The road reduces the travel time between the two cities from 8 hours to 4 hours at a cost of 38 billion yuan ($5.8 billion).

With a length of 409km, the highway runs from Liuwu New District of Lhasa to Bayi Town of Nyingchi City. Part of the main China National Highway 318 (G318), it crosses a plenty of stunning natural scenery on the way. The road tops out at 4.900m (16,076ft) above the sea level on Mi La Mountain Tunnel. As a key section of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Highway, the left lane of the tunnel is 5,727 meters and the right lane is 5,720 meters long respectively.