Once there was a highway linking Motuo to the outside world, but it only existed for two days with four automobiles driving on it altogether. On September 25 and 26 in 1993, a simple and crude highway penetrated the bumpy mountain roads between the peaks and gullies to reach this secluded island. This was obviously a big event for the people in the county, as local people from various directions came to Motuo for a glimpse of the legendary running monster. But just a few days later, this piece of news became history, as autos became legendary again. The only remain was the rusty skeleton of a truck which was never able to get out of the county.

The central government and Tibet's local government began to build the Motuo highway some 30 years ago. But without any exception, all attempts were doomed to fail. Due to the extremely complex geological structure, volatile climate, frequent landslides, floods, mud-rock flows and avalanches, the workers would usually witness the collapse of what they had built the previous day.

Altogether, although the road is only about 140 kilometers long, millions of dollars have been wasted with the repetitive collapses of the road in the past 30 years. The only proof of all these efforts was the "Zha-Mo Highway Monument" in Zhamu Village of the neighboring Bomi County, whose site marks the shortest existence of a road in Chinese highway history. Today, things look the way they were 30 years and Motuo remains a tranquil county untouched by any modern highways.

(Author: Jeff)

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