Mohe Camel Farm is located about 18 kilometers south of Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The camels raised here are resting and foraging. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Qinghai-Xizang Highway. In the course of history, Mohe Camel Farm has played a significant role. From 1951 to 1953, camel caravans made three trips to Xizang, contributing to the peaceful liberation of Xizang and the completion of the Qinghai-Xizang Highway. The upper image shows a camel caravan heading to Xizang. The lower image shows the camels raised at Mohe Camel Farm. (Photo by Bagesheng)

On May 23, 1951, camel drivers led camels, mule trains, and yaks, carrying 2 million kilograms of grain into Xizang.

This map is the earliest, most complete, and most comprehensive historical map depicting the route from Golmud, Qinghai to Lhasa, Xizang. This same route also traces the path taken by Princess Wencheng over a thousand years ago.

The journey to Xizang was fraught with countless difficulties and dangers: marshes, long distances, and an overwhelming need for a road to Xizang. After successfully completing their mission of transporting grain to Xizang, the Qinghai-Xizang camel caravans became the primary workforce for road construction, taking on the task of building the Qinghai-Xizang Highway. After seven months of work, on December 15, 1954, the 1,200-kilometer section of the Qinghai-Xizang Highway from Golmud to Lhasa was officially opened, marking a remarkable achievement in the history of global road construction.

The completion of the Qinghai-Xizang Highway ended China's thousands of years of relying on pack animals to transport goods into Xizang and transformed Xizang's long-standing isolation. Today, the Sichuan-Xizang and Qinghai-Xizang Highways carry over 85% of the supplies entering Xizang and more than 90% of the goods leaving Xizang. The above image shows the winding mountain road of the Sichuan-Xizang Highway over Yela Mountain.

Smooth transportation has brought stability to Xizang and fueled rapid economic development. Factories, schools, commercial buildings, and hospitals have been built one after another... The Qinghai-Xizang Highway has become the main traffic artery of the plateau and has also become the "lifeline" for people in Xizang. The image shows the bustling nightscape of Lhasa. (Photo by Zhao Li)

Image Source: The Qinghai-Xizang Camel Caravan History Museum at Mohe Camel Farm in Wulan County, Qinghai Province; China Ethnic Pictorial

Dong Mei /Editor    Zhu Jinping /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Liu Xian /Coordination Editor

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor