The Best Route for a Self-Driving Trip from Linzhi to Lhasa

Driving from Linzhi to Lhasa requires a certain amount of courage and bravery. This route is not very safe. You need to cross the snow-capped plateau, go through glaciers and snow-capped mountains, and face many dangerous natural environments and geographical landscapes. You definitely need good geographical and climatological knowledge. Here is a travel guide to the best route for a self-driving trip from Linzhi to Lhasa.

Set off from Linzhi in the morning. Due to the renovation of the Linzhi-Lhasa highway, there is a short stretch of road with a lot of dust. Once you pass this part of the road, the driving is much easier. The road surface is asphalt, smooth and flat. There are not many vehicles, and there is basically no dust, but the speed limit is enforced along the entire route.

Take it slow and steady. This section of the road is pretty boring as there is not much scenery to speak of.

Starting from Linzhi, drive along the Nyang River Valley Road. The mountains on both sides of the road are sparsely wooded, and the snow-capped mountains only occasionally show a small face or two.

Have lunch in Gongbujiangda County, as usual, Sichuan food.

The Taizhao Ancient City is located on the left bank of the Nyang River. It is the meeting point of the ancient Sichuan-Tibet Road and the ancient Qinghai-Tibet Road (so it is also known as the Tang-Fan Ancient Road Post Station). It played an important role in history.

The famous Taizhao Ancient City is on the opposite bank of the Nyang River.

The remains of the bridge over the Nyang River are still well preserved. There are many low, criss-crossed ancient houses on the opposite bank of the river. The Tang-Fan Ancient Road winds its way through, forming its own unique style, and is known as the Tea Horse Road. It is also one of the ancient roads with great historical value and significance. From here, you can imagine the prosperity and bustle of the place back then.

The Taizhao Bridge over the Nyang River.

After passing Jinda Town, we started looking for the 4444km milestone on the G318 National Highway. We counted down from 4440km, and found 4440, 4441, 4442 and 4443, but not 4444. This stretch of road had just been repaired, and the soil on the side of the road was still new. We don’t know where the milestone was thrown.

G318 National Highway 4555km.

Later, we took commemorative photos and family photos at the 5000km mark.

We started to climb Mila Mountain soon after passing the 4448km mark.

Mila Mountain, at 5013m, is the second highest peak on the G318 National Highway, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. But despite its higher altitude than Sejila Mountain, for some unknown reason, the entire Mila Mountain and its surrounding mountains have almost no snow, only a few pockets still retain a small amount of snow.

Mila Mountain.

We analyzed the reasons. Could it be that too many people come to Mila Mountain? The surrounding mountains of Mila Mountain may not be higher than the Sejila Mountain Range. Or maybe the wind direction guides warm, humid air currents to Mila Mountain, leading to melting of the snow and ice?

Prayer flags on Mila Mountain.

What exactly the reason is, only meteorologists can really figure it out.

From Mila Mountain, there is no vegetation, and we enter the alpine meadow landscape. The grass has not yet sprouted.

From the time we started to descend, there was a small, clear stream leading us down and down. As we went lower, it became wider, and the river valley also became wider. After reaching Zashigang Township, it had become a long, narrow, wetland valley.

After passing Mozhugongka County, the wetland valley became even wider, the water flowed clear, the water plants were lush, and the trees were thick. We drove along the road at the foot of the mountain on the left until we reached the beautiful Lhasa.

This river is the Lhasa River, which originates from Mila Mountain.

Lhasa River Valley.

Songtsen Gampo’s birthplace.

At the junction of Mozhugongka County and Dazhi County, on the left side of the road, lies a famous scenic spot, Songtsen Gampo’s birthplace.

The words “Songtsen Gampo’s Birthplace” are inscribed boldly on the gate, and a large concrete platform is located outside the gate. The round stone to the left of the gate describes Songtsen Gampo’s life and achievements.

Songtsen Gampo’s birthplace.

I learned about Songtsen Gampo in high school. He was a great ruler of Tibet. At that time, Tang Taizong’s reign was at its peak, and his prestige extended far and wide, with tributes arriving from all corners of the world.

Songtsen Gampo had always admired Tang culture and wanted to marry a Tang princess. After repeated marriage proposals, Tang Taizong, moved by his sincerity, married his cousin, Wencheng Princess, to him.

Wencheng Princess brought to ancient Tibet the advanced technology and techniques of the Central Plains in agriculture, handicrafts, culture and science.

We were told that it was still 10km to Lhasa, and it was already past seven in the evening. To reach our destination as soon as possible, we did not go inside the scenic spot, but bought a small bag of curd at a nearby stall. It cost 15 yuan, and it was sour. The attendant said it could boost nutrition and prevent altitude sickness.

The new Linzhi-Lhasa Highway is also under construction on the Lhasa side.

It can be seen that the future “high-grade” Linzhi-Lhasa Highway, although not completely closed like a highway, is wide and straight. The roadbed is next to the old road, like a highway. Where there are rivers, there are bridges, and where there are mountains, there are tunnels. The straight-line distance is much shorter.

A row of neat bridge piers have just been completed. A large sign on the side of the road reads “Qunipa Bridge”. This Qunipa Bridge has a large bend.

(The Linzhi-Lhasa “high-grade” road should have been opened to traffic a long time ago, right?)

On the left side of the road about 20km from Lhasa City, there is a mountain called Tonmi Ridge. At the foot of the mountain, a national cultural industry base, “Tonmi Ridge Tibetan Arts and Culture Expo Park”, is being built. It is still under construction, and the walls are just starting to be built.

Tonmi Ridge.

This Tibetan Arts and Culture Expo Park will be a national traditional craft expo park that integrates art, tourism, culture, shopping, learning and sightseeing, and will be another great destination for tourists in Tibet in the future.

In the south, “flowers bloom in March in Yangzhou”, and the willow fluff has already flown in our area. It is not until June in Lhasa that the poplar flowers are captivating. Clumps of fluff fly around, like snowballs.

We continued westward, chasing the sun.

Ever since we arrived on the plateau, the sun has been shining directly into the faces of the driver and the passenger from the front or right front of the car window every afternoon at 7 or 8 pm. The sun in Lhasa is even more intense. From the time we started down Mila Mountain, it started to burn our legs, chest, neck and face. When we were close to Lhasa, it was already past 8 pm, but it was still high in the sky, and its power was no less than that of the midday sun in our area in the summer!

When we were approaching Lhasa, we washed our car at the “Langzhong Sifang Friends Car Wash”.

Washing the “horse” and entering Lhasa.

Since we set out, our car has driven through hills and plains, crossed mountains and plateaus, and gone over snow-capped mountains and glaciers, and we can no longer tell our nose from our eyes. Let it have a good wash, so that it can be clean and bring us into the beautiful Lhasa.

The hotel we stayed at that night was a three-star hotel with a double room for 180 yuan. The hot and cold water was plentiful, and the bedding was clean and dry.

For dinner, we enjoyed some local Tibetan snacks at the Zangre Sweet Tea House, which were good value for money.

Tibetan noodles (barley noodles cooked in a broth made from yak bones) cost 4 yuan; Tibetan dumplings (filled with yak meat) cost 15 yuan a bowl; fried noodles cost 12 yuan a plate; fried potatoes cost 5 yuan a plate; butter tea costs 15 yuan for 3 pounds; and yogurt costs 10 yuan a bowl.

Tibetan snacks.

It is said that beautiful scenery should be paired with delicious food and beautiful people. We don’t need beautiful people. We already have enough “beautiful people” on this trip, 12 people in total, 8 of whom are “beautiful people”.

But we definitely need to try the delicious food. No matter where you go, after admiring the beautiful scenery, you must go and try the local specialties, otherwise it would be a waste of the long journey.

“Local specialties” do not have to be fancy meals in big hotels. Local specialties are everywhere. For example, our Sichuan cuisine, whether it’s meat or vegetables, every dish is a specialty dish. The famous twice-cooked pork, salt-fried pork, fish-flavored shredded pork, can be eaten in big restaurants, can be eaten in street-side stalls, even in the canteen of an organization, these are their basic essential dishes. Every household, whether man or woman, they also learned these dishes from their parents when they were young, and watched their parents cook them. So these dishes are their best dishes.

Then there are local snacks, such as Chengdu’s small steamed buns, Long’s wontons, Husband and Wife Lung Slices, Mianyang’s seated cold noodles, the famous Zitong fragrant bowl, Xuzhou cold noodles, sliced noodles, Jiangyou’s pig intestines, etc., too many to mention.

Even our pickled vegetables are famous. True Sichuan people always have a small plate of wine-red, pure white, or light yellow pickled vegetables after a meal. They can be eaten plain, or with a little red oil and pepper oil, sour and crispy, more delicious than the desserts in French fine dining. They can help digest oil and alcohol. Oh, it’s so refreshing, I can’t get enough of it!

The local specialties in Lhasa are Tibetan food and the snacks mentioned above.

Tibetan residence.

Mila Mountain store. We bought yak yogurt made by the Tibetans inside. It’s plain, very sour, and you need to add a lot of sugar.

Dogs on Mila Mountain. Tibetan dogs all look a bit like Tibetan mastiffs, but they are very gentle and calm, like they have seen the world, indifferent to everything.

Introduction to Dazhi County.

Mianyang Restaurant in Jinda Town. We had lunch at this restaurant last time.

Mozhugongka.