Explore the world's longest desert highway

As the road through the Taklamakan Desert (China), the desert highway Tarim is considered the longest road in the world.

Tarim desert highway connects the cities of Luntai and Minfeng areas near Tarim (Xinjiang, China) with a total length of 552km. In which, there are about 446km built in an uninhabited area, surrounded by vast sand dunes, with a place as high as 20m.

There are sections of highways that are often covered by sand so people have planted rows of trees on both sides of the road, preventing sand from flowing down. A large irrigation system has also been built to pump water from underground reservoirs, maintaining this artificial ecosystem.

For years, the Chinese government has experimented with various options to protect the national highway from the harsh natural conditions of the Taklamakan desert. Starting in 1999, a pilot project of planting trees along the road to protect the highway was not buried by the 6.3km long sand dunes were completed. So far, nearly 4/5 of the two sides of the highway have been covered by vegetation with width from 72 to 78m.

When built in 1995, the Tarim highway used to circulate the North-South oil pipeline under the Taklamakan desert. Due to the absence of people, only one gas station and several restaurants were built at locations along the highway to serve tourists.