Dare to drive the dangerous 711 County Road

711 County Road (X711) is a high mountain road located in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. There is a real risk of AMS (altitude-mountain-sickness). It’s one of the highest roads of the country.

711 County Road

Located in the Gangdise Mountains (also known as the Lunggar Mountains) deep in the Tibetan Plateau, the road is totally unpaved. 4x4 vehicle with high clearance required. Accessibility is largely limited to the summer season. Facilities like electricity, medical aid, hot running water, western toilets etc. are rare to find. On this road you're firmly on altitudes over 5.000m above the sea level. There is a real risk of AMS (altitude-mountain-sickness) and death due to Pulmonary Edema and Cerebral Edema. The entire area is little visited, partly due to its isolated location. The road is pretty steep, with some parts up to 12% of maximum gradient.
The road is 342 km (212 miles) long running west-east from Yarexiang, on the X716 (716 County Road) to 206 Provincial Road near Coqên, in the southeast of Ngari Prefecture. The road tops out at 5.154m (16,909ft) above the sea level. The road runs along the shores of Renqingxiubu Lake, a salt lake in Zhongba County, and Lake Zabuye (Chabyer Co), a hypersaline, landlocked soda lake in the Shigatse Prefecture.
Pic: 陈炜

 

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