Sichuan to Tibet overland tour

Planet

National Highway 318 (G318) is a national road in East China, Central China and Southwest China. It starts from Huangpu District of Shanghai and ends at Nyalam County of Shigatse City of Tibet. It passes through eight provinces of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan and Tibet. It is the longest National Road in China and reputed as "China's Landscape Avenue" by China National Geographic magazine in the 10th issue of 2006.

The "318 Sichuan Tibet Line" refers to the section of "Chengdu to Lhasa" in the 318 National Highway. It is the essence of the 318 National Highway, with a total length of more than 2100 kilometers. Gorgeous snow mountains, grasslands, lakes, meadows, virgin forests and other natural landscapes crisscross all the way along.

Chengdu lies 512 meters above sea level and Lhasa 3650 meters above sea level. Along the way, we will cross two snow mountains with an altitude of more than 5000 meters and eight high mountains with an altitude of 4000-5000 meters. Because of the gradual change of altitude, it is not easy to cause traveler's altitude reaction, and there are rich tourism resources almost of all kinds. 318 Sichuan Tibet Line is thus almost the first choice for every tourist to Tibet.

Traveling on such a road, we emphasize the importance of protecting the local environment and maintaining ecological balance. A large part of the journey is between mountains and valleys. The living standard of the local people along the way is generally low because of the inconvenient transportation and far away from large and medium-sized cities. Therefore, we call for promoting local people to learn and master various knowledge and skills through modern education, so as to be able to improve their living conditions. The local people have a deep tradition of loving and caring for nature from generation to generation. Through studying and understanding of modern scientific knowledge, they can more scientifically maintain the balance between human life, social production activities and environmental protection.

People

As a travel company that has organized international tour groups to travel on this route for many years, we usually ask the accompanying guides and drivers to lead tourists to visit and interact with local families. Therefore, we have noticed a common and serious problem in these areas: empty nesters and left behind children.

In the process of China's all-round industrial modernization, hundreds of millions of farmers in mountainous villages leave their hometown to work and live in the city. They often only return to their hometown once a year to reunite with their parents and children during the Spring Festival. This has resulted in a very realistic and unacceptable situation: the local aging people lack the care of their relatives, and the left behind children lack the care of their parents.

Although the necessary primary schools, small hospitals or health centers, small nursing facilities for the aged and so on are equipped in the communities nowadays, these old people and children still live a life which is hard to imagine for people living in developed modern cities because of traffic obstacles and economic conditions. Children in the mountains are the same as those in the city. They all have the most basic needs as a child: play, company, sense of identity, establishment of basic social relations and nutrition for all ages, etc.

Over the years, we have recognized these issues and tried to do what we are able to do. We donate money to local schools, organize volunteer teaching activities, improve local students' knowledge through team visits, and enhance the contact and communication between foreign groups and local people. We organize clothes, quilts, shoes, books, magazines and other learning materials in the city, and distribute them to the people in need through relevant local authorities, formal institutions and professional teams. These newly purchased items, especially clothes and shoes, need to be measured and handed uniformly before distribution. Sometimes, we will also arrange to clean and disinfect the second-hand clothes in good condition, and then measure the size of needing children and distribute them at fixed points.

We do these activities out of the basic sense of civilization and the necessary social responsibility of modern people. We thank these old people and children for giving us an opportunity to express our love. We can't change the fate of anyone. We just hope that all people can follow the progress of the times and live an increasingly better life.