New paved road offers lifeline to once-isolated Yunnan village

The road and the Gangqu River [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sonam Dondrup, born in 1964 in Bala village, lost the sight in his left eye when he was about 10 years old because he and his father had to spend five days on the rough road before reaching hospitals in Shangari-La. The long journey meant he missed the best chance to save his sight. Then, young Sonam saw the world outside for the first time and has since dreamed of building a road that can lead his hometown to the outside world. Now with the asphalt road, it takes only two hours to arrive in Shangri-La from Bala village. Sonam calls the road "the line of life".