New paved road offers lifeline to once-isolated Yunnan village

In an aerial view, Bala village and the winding road leading to it are clearly seen. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Before that people lived a hard life on the mountain 700 meters above the Gangqu River and 2,900 meters above sea level, mainly by farming and grazing yaks and Tibetan pigs. The only road leading to the outside world was between 20 cm and 1 meter wide, clinging to the cliffs. If people were seriously sick, it would take four to five days for young men from the village to carry the sick person on their shoulders and walk on the rough road to get to hospitals in the city of Shangari-La, the capital of the prefecture. Due to the isolation and harsh environment, before the road was completed, many people had moved out of the mountains since 1995, so that only 15 households remained in 2000.