China National Highway 219

Construction of this road as a gravel road was started in 1951.^[1] It is also known as the 'Yehchang–Gartok road', the 'Aksai Chin road',^[2] and the 'Sky Road'.^[3] About 180 km (112 mi) passes through Aksai Chin.^[4]

Through 1950s China planned and constructed a road through its western frontier in Xinjiang and Tibet (Hotan/Rutog).^{[5][clarification needed]} China announced completion of the road in September 1957.^[6][7] A number of reasons^{[weasel words]} for building the road has been conceptualized, including cementing China's control over the region.^{[5][clarification needed]} India supposedly^{[weasel words]} learnt of the construction a couple of years^{[weasel words]} after the road construction started.^[5] Despite the historic remoteness of the region,^{[clarification needed]} both sides lay claim to the area.^[5]

The road entered disputed territory "just east of Sarigh Jilgnang" after which it ran through a number of locations^{[clarification needed]} India recognized as its territory such as Haji Langar, and usage was claimed by India to be in contravention to the Sino-Indian Agreement 1954.^[8] The following years saw China repave the road which resulted in localized tension.^{[5][clarification needed]} One of the reasons for the 1962 war was the defence of that road.^{[9][3][according to whom?]} In the defence of the road, China pushed its western frontier further west.^{[10][according to whom?]}

Dispute over the territory persists to the present time.^[5] There is a Chinese war memorial on the G219 at Kangxiwar.^[11] A number of lateral roads have been constructed with scattered military infrastructure.^{[11][clarification needed]}

Repaving of the road began in late 2010.^[12] By July 2012 and with an expenditure of CN¥3 Billion ($476 million), the Xinjiang section spanning just over 650 km (404 mi) was completed.^[12] This was the first repaving since the 1960s, according to a Chinese road administration official.^[12] The 13th five-year plan of China (2016–2020) further upgraded the road.^[13] In 2013 the road was upgraded to asphalt.^[4] A number of provincial roads have been and are being developed which exit off from the G219, the G564 and the G365,^[14] and the S205, S206, S207.^[15] China 14th five-year plan for 2021–2025 further improves connectivity with G219.^[16]

As one of the highest motorable roads in the world, the breathtaking scenery of Rutog County also ranks as some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. Domar township—a town of concrete blocks and nomad tents—is one of the bleakest and most remote outposts of the People's Liberation Army at the edge of the Aksai Chin. Near the town of Mazar many trekkers turn off for both the Karakorum range and K2 base camp. Approaching the Xinjiang border, past the final Tibetan settlement of Tserang Daban is a dangerous 5,050-meter-high pass. Tibetan nomads in the area herd both yaks and two-humped camels. Descending through the western Kunlun Shan, the road crosses additional passes of 4,000 and 3,000 meters, and the final pass offers brilliant views of the Taklamakan Desert far below before descending into the Karakax River basin.

The Chinese government is making efforts to promote tourism along G219.^[17][18] There are a number of military check posts along the road.^[19]

The western portion of the highway has numerous notable mountain passes. Motorists have invented a rhyme describing those mountain passes:^[20][21]

The route was expanded in the China National Highway Network Planning (2013–2030) both northward and eastward to span the entire Chinese western and southern border. The new route will measure over 10,000 km (6,214 mi), making it by far the longest National Highway.

The section along the China-Vietnam border is also known as the Yanbian Highway (沿边公路, literally: along the border highway).^{[22][unreliable source?][23]}

• China National Highways
• China National Highway 228, which follows the coastline of China
• China National Highway 331, which follows the northern border of China

• Dorje, Gyurme. (2009). Footprint Tibet Handbook. (4th Ed.) Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. ISBN 978-1-906098-32-2.
• "China National Highway 219, one of the highest roads on Earth". www.dangerousroads.org. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
• Arpi, Claude (13 January 2021). "The Most Serious Strategic Development on Indian Frontiers". Retrieved 23 December 2021 – via Indian Defence Review.
• Huttenback, R. A. (1964). "A Historical Note on the Sino-Indian Dispute over the Aksai Chin". The China Quarterly. 18 (18): 201–207. doi:10.1017/S0305741000041977. ISSN 0305-7410. JSTOR 3082130. S2CID 155074304.
• Dreams of Snow Land. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. 2005. pp. 279-294. ISBN 7-119-03883-4 – via Internet Archive.

•   Media related to China National Highway 219 at Wikimedia Commons
•   Works related to 国家公路网规划（2013年－2030年） at Wikisource
• Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (Yecheng-Burang)
• The Highway 219 from Yecheng over Western Tibet to Kathmandu Archived 9 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine Description and profile of the route.
• From Kashgar to Lhassa Photos along highway 219 (text in French).
• Some photos along the Highway 219
• A detailed description of a bicycle ride along highway 219 with many photos
• Photographs of a 2018 trip along G219