Xinjiang-Tibet lifeline resumes traffic after closure by heavy snow
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Traffic on the highway linking China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region largely resumed Friday after being closed by heavy snow for four days.
The 1,429-km highway, linking Xinjiang's Yecheng County and Tibet's Burang County along the border with India and Nepal, is an important lifeline running at an average altitude of 4,500 meters.
Snowstorms have swept Tibet's Ngari region since Feb. 13, and as a result some sections of the highway were covered with snow as deep as one meter.
Around 200 traffic policemen were sent to clear the snow in a section extending nearly 600 km. A total of 104 people who had been stranded on the road were rescued, said a police spokesman.
Except some sections in Burang County, the highway has been reopened to traffic.
The Ngari Prefecture meteorological bureau warned Thursday that more snow is expected to hit the region in the next few days. Local traffic police have stepped up patrol to ensure the highway remain open and safe, said a local police official.
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