Stretching 715 kilometers from Xiaguan County in Yunnan Province to Mangkam County in Xizang Autonomous Region, the route crosses the Jinsha and Lancang rivers, traverses the rugged and geologically complex Hengduan Mountains, and climbs over snow-capped passes. Connecting to the southern section of the Sichuan-Xizang Highway to Lhasa, it has forged a crucial land artery linking Yunnan and Xizang, ending the extreme geographical isolation of China's frontier southwest.
