ALL-ROUND TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT
The rail loop around the Taklimakan Desert is the epitome of Xinjiang's transportation infrastructure development. Also on Thursday, an airport in the city of Alaer started operations. In April, Zhaosu Tianma Airport, the region's first plateau airport, was officially put into use.
Over the past 10 years, the number of civil airports in Xinjiang has increased from 0.96 to 1.51 per 100,000 square km. With 24 civil airports in total, Xinjiang has the largest number of airports among all provincial-level regions.
With the third desert road to be opened to traffic in late June, Xinjiang will boast three roads that run through the Taklimakan. In addition, 8,151 kilometers of railways had been in operation by the end of 2021.
Aerial photo taken on May 1, 2021 shows workers paving the Yuli-Qiemo highway with asphalt in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Quehure/Xinhua)
Since 2012, Xinjiang has experienced the best period for transportation development, according to the regional transport department. From 2016 to 2020, Xinjiang's fixed-asset investment in transportation exceeded the total of the previous 60 years, it said.
Behind all these numbers are Xinjiang's unremitting efforts to deliver tangible benefits to every single individual, be it on the plateau over 3,000 meters above sea level or in the isolated villages hidden in the center of the desert.
With longer roads and railways and more airports, Xinjiang is transforming from the edge of the transport network to a regional hub, said a regional transport department official.
