Transportation today would stun Tang poet

By Zhou Liming (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-20 17:52

Sichuan province without question impresses with its spicy food and beautiful girls. But its topography is equally remarkable.

A poem by Li Bai, a noted writer in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is a masterpiece describing the region's treacherous roads and geography.

Ancient Sichuan Road was a 450-km route from Chengdu, its capital in the hinterlands, to Guangyuan Qipan Pass in the north. A journey on the road was paved with adventures and risks. Li Bai wrote that it is even harder to climb than into the sky.

Despite its obvious and hidden perils, the road played an important role in linking the southwestern region with the outside world, especially capitals of different dynasties. It was of great value as part of the Silk Road that connected China with the Western world in ancient times.

Over thousands of years the ancient road greatly assisted the country's economic growth, national unification and cultural exchanges.

A great variety of natural and cultural treasures along the road itself show the splendid history and unique customs of the region. Sanxingdui Museum mirrors the development of the bronze culture of the Shu Kingdom - the ancient name of Sichuan province.

Ancient residences and defensive works built by the Qiang minority in the area hit by the disastrous May 12 earthquake show its distinctive regional traditions, while a large number of literary works including poems and legends have left imaginative treasures to the area's descendents.

In the 21st century the ancient route continues to bring benefits. It now only takes about four hours to travel from the center to north of Sichuan province by car. Such short trip would be unimaginable for Li Bai, who likely spent several days and nights to walk it more than a millennium ago.

Great efforts by the city of Chengdu have stretched efficient transportation in all directions and have played a crucial role in the development of the whole province and western region.

A number of national and provincial expressways have been constructed since the 1990s that vastly improved travel from city to city and from province to province.

A literal milestone in the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway was reached in 1995 when a distance of 340 km was completed after five years of construction that shortens the journey to about four hours.

New highways under construction along the ancient Sichuan Road and the Silk Road represent the glorious past meeting the modern present.

Apart from expressway construction, Chengdu boasts modern and convenient aviation to bring tourists or commodities to the domestic and international airports.

Located 16 km to the southwest of the city's center, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is an important aviation hub for passengers and cargo. The airport has connecting flights with about 90 cities at home and abroad, including 25 international cities. After the nation's reform and opening up began in Sichuan, 13.8 million passengers and 320,000 tons cargo arrived on 133,000 planes since 2005.

The city is also an important transfer point by expressway or air to other popular tourist destinations including Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong and Tibet.