Why do most people choose G318 instead of G317 when driving on the Sichuan-Tibet Line? It turns out that these are the reasons

When traveling to Tibet by car, the Sichuan-Tibet Line is the preferred route for most people. On the one hand, it is because the Sichuan-Tibet Line has beautiful natural scenery and is known as "China's No. 1 Landscape Avenue". The scenery is dazzling and unforgettable; on the other hand, for self-driving enthusiasts in most provinces and cities in China, taking the Sichuan-Tibet line from where they are is the shortest distance and does not require spending more money. Time is on the way.

However, as the Sichuan-Tibet Line is well-known to everyone, many people do not know that the Sichuan-Tibet Line is actually the collective name of two completely different routes. One starts from Chengdu and covers a total distance of more than 2,100 kilometers, passing through Ya'an, Luding, Kangding, Xinduqiao, Yajiang, Litang, Batang, Mangkang, Zuogong, Basu, Bomi, Ranwu, and Nyingchi, before arriving in Lhasa The G318 Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line. The other one also starts from Chengdu and covers a total distance of more than 2,400 kilometers, passing through Wenchuan, Ngaba, Luhuo, Garze, Dege, Jiangda, Qamdo, Leiwuqi, Dingqing, Baqing, Suoxian, and Nagqu, before arriving in Lhasa. Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line.

For most friends who drive the Sichuan-Tibet line into Tibet, more than 95% of the preferred routes will always choose the southern Sichuan-Tibet line, while few people will choose the northern Sichuan-Tibet line. So , why is this?

As an old traveler who often goes to Tibet, in my opinion, there are the following reasons.

It should be said that over the years, whether it is media promotion or word-of-mouth in the self-driving circle, the G318 Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line has been synonymous with the Sichuan-Tibet Line. The Sichuan-Tibet Northern Line is a more mysterious and awe-inspiring existence. Why do you say that?

Five or six years ago or earlier, the Sichuan-Tibet Northern Line was a difficult route with harsh natural climate conditions, complex road conditions, and rugged roads. Not to mention cars, it was SUVs and high-chassis vehicles. Ordinary off-road vehicles will have greater challenges. The G317 Sichuan-Tibet Northern Line back then looked like the pictures below.

That’s right.

Same thing.

There are more complex and frightening road conditions that will make you give up the idea of ??driving the Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line after seeing it. Such an image is deeply imprinted on the psychology of many ordinary people and self-driving travel enthusiasts. It is not an easy task to overcome this psychological barrier.

Compared with the "terrible" G317 Sichuan-Tibet North Line, the G318 Sichuan-Tibet South Line has a relatively good geographical location, large traffic volume, relatively developed regional economies, and local road infrastructure. There is more and priority investment in construction, so the road conditions will be much better than those of the Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line for many years. Even now, after vigorous construction of the G317 Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line and the road quality has been greatly improved, , the road quality and traffic conditions of the G318 Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line are generally better than those of the Northern Line.

The road conditions on the Sichuan-Tibet Southern Line are like this.

Like this.

Same thing.

Therefore, given this contrasting situation and the fact that most friends who drive to Tibet are entering Tibet for the first time and will not go to Tibet for the second time for a long time, it is generally recommended that Most people will choose to take the G318 Southern Sichuan-Tibet Route. Only friends who are visiting Tibet for the second or third time will consider challenging the G317 Northern Sichuan-Tibet Route. Even the current G317 has no difficulty conditions.

The vast majority of friends who drive to Tibet, especially those who visit Tibet for the first time, always try their best to learn about various strategies because they have a more or less respectful and mysterious feeling about Tibet. The consultation has already Riders who have been to Tibet, at this time, 99 out of 100 people who have driven through Tibet will recommend that novices take the G318 South Sichuan-Tibet Line first. There are many reasons. I will explain them one by one later. The final conclusion is "You Just go to 318."

Under this kind of information bombardment and inductive suggestions, few people will choose other routes on their own, except for those friends who are closer to Yunnan or hope to travel to Yunnan by the way, they will choose Yunnan and Tibet. In addition to entering Tibet via the line, most people will take the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line and start their first self-driving trip to Tibet.

The Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line is an amazing landscape avenue that indeed gathers various scenery including snow-capped mountains, dangerous peaks, glaciers, grasslands, lakes, rivers, etc. Along the way, the scenery is very magnificent. However, the cultural landscape on this route will be relatively less. Different from the southern route, the G317 Sichuan-Tibet Northern Route is a route rich in cultural and natural landscapes. In particular, there are many cultural landscapes, such as Wuming Buddhist Academy, Dege Sutra Printing Institute, Celestial Burial Platform and many other Tibetan areas with profound humanistic history. Cultural holy places are concentrated along the G317, but for many people who only love beautiful scenery but have no time to pay attention to the cultural landscape, it is simpler and more direct to choose the southern Sichuan-Tibet line.

Objectively speaking, many friends who drive to Tibet first go there for the beautiful scenery, taking photos, and posting on WeChat Moments. The appeal of the cultural landscape to them will obviously be greatly reduced. Just like me, it was my first self-driving trip. It’s the same as entering Tibet.

Although G317 and G318 also traverse western Sichuan and eastern Tibet, the overall altitude of the route passed by the G318 southern Sichuan-Tibet line is relatively low, and the terrain is undulating, especially after entering the Tibet area. , whether passing through the Linzhi area or the Lhasa area along the way, the overall terrain and altitude are relatively low, the climate is relatively mild, the temperature is higher, and the oxygen content in the air is higher.

Whether the G317 Northern Sichuan-Tibet Route takes Aba Prefecture or Garze Prefecture in northwest Sichuan, not to mention Qamdo and Nagqu regions after entering Tibet, the overall altitude is higher, the temperature is lower, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. , which requires higher physical adaptability. For friends who come to Tibet for the first time, the probability of physical discomfort is higher and the symptoms will be more severe.

From the perspective of physical health and self-driving safety, many people will also give priority to taking the southern route.

If a few years ago or more than ten years ago, the road conditions of the two routes had already determined that the G317 Sichuan-Tibet North Line would be a hellish route, while the G318 Sichuan-Tibet South Line would be easier. That's a lot.

However, for now, the self-driving difficulty of these two lines is not much different. Both the G318 South Line and the G317 North Line have basically completed the hardening of paved roads along the entire line, especially in spring. The two most suitable seasons for self-driving are autumn and autumn, as the road conditions are very good and can meet the traffic needs of various vehicles.

If it is the rainy season, both lines will inevitably have various problems that affect driving safety, such as landslides, mudslides, landslides, accumulation of gravel on the road, etc. caused by heavy rains. Judging from the actual situation over the past few years, the southern route seems to have more problems and more probabilities because there are more rivers and tributaries along the route.

In addition, due to the terrain, altitude, latitude, and climate, the northern line is more prone to sudden snowfall, snow accumulation, and ice accumulation in high-altitude areas. If it is not a four-wheel drive vehicle or does not have a If you don’t have anti-skid chains and other escape facilities, you will easily be in a dilemma in this kind of weather.

Whether it is due to historical reasons, tilted policy and infrastructure investment, or the control of the invisible hand of market demand, in my opinion, the reality is that the number of tourists on the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line is far Higher than the Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line, both passenger and freight traffic is much higher than that of the Northern Line. The flow of people is the flow of capital. Driven by this demand, many counties and cities along the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line are engaged in the service industry (catering, accommodation, supermarkets) The number is much greater than that of the northern line counties. From various perspectives such as service guarantee, service quality, and intensity of competition, the southern line will be better than the northern line. For many people who pay attention to travel accommodation and food quality, this is also A factor that cannot be ignored.

First of all, the journey distance of the Sichuan-Tibet Southern Line is 300 kilometers shorter than that of the Northern Line. The road quality of the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line and the convenience of service facilities along the way can ensure that you can travel in 5-7 days. The level of completion is the Daocheng-Yden-Lhasa route. If you only take the G318 Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line and don’t go to Daocheng, you can drive there in as little as 4 days (anyone who takes less than 3 days is crazy). And if you take the G317 Northern Sichuan-Tibet Line and want to comprehensively visit various cultural scenic spots, it is estimated that it will take at least 10 days to reach Lhasa. For most self-driving friends who have very limited vacation time, time constraints will become an important reason for choosing the southern route.

The final words: In fact, whether it is the G318 South Sichuan-Tibet Line or the G317 North Sichuan-Tibet Line, the scenery is very beautiful. As long as you are willing to embark on this trip, you will definitely feel that it is This trip is in vain. For most friends who have never been there, what you really need to think about is when you are going to start this self-driving trip in your car.