The southwest sea gateway, being all high-grade road, runs at a full length of 1709 kilometers, including 59.4 percent expressway (1015 kilometers), 3.9 percent first-class highway and 36.7 percent second-class highway. It starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and traverses across Ziyang, Neijiang, Longchang, Luxian, Naxi, Xuyong to Chishui River at the border of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces. Then it runs through Guizhou's Dafang, Xiuwen, Guiyang, Guiding, Duyun, Dushan to Liuzhai where Guizhou and Guangxi meets. After that it enters the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and cross Nandan, Shuiren, Yizhou, Liuzhou, Laibin, Naning, Qinzhou, Hepu to reach Beihai, a coastal city of the Beibu Bay. Respectively, it has 452, 539 and 717 kilometers within Sichuan, Guizhou Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Minister of Communication Zhang Chunxian said the geological conditions of the mountainous Southwestern region are poor, which created great difficulties for the project. He said 1,089 bridges had to be built along the highway.

The project in Guizhou province was especially difficult, where there are not only mountains, but solute caves. Statistics show that the total length of highway in Guizhou province is 539 kilometers, along which 435 bridges are built.

In the past, the Yangtze river was the only way to the sea for the southwestern region. The newly-opened southwest highway is now the shortest and cheapest way to the sea.

Cars and trucks need only about 30 hours to travel the whole highway, with only 20 or so hours for cars.

Completion of the gateway marks a great achievement in the west development strategy. It's construction started in December 1987, and speeded up in recent two years. At a cost of 25.5 billion yuan (US$3.08 billion), it is an over 20 hour driving distance by a sedan car.

Zhang said the opening of the highway will help improve traffic conditions in the Southwestern region, and provide a good environment for attracting overseas capital into the development of the Southwestern region.

The economy of the provinces along the highway, including the counties for minority groups, will grow rapidly following the opening of the highway, and will further strengthen the unity of the minority groups, said Zhang.

Zhang added that the highway will also help to develop and protect the scenery along the highway, and make it easier to explore and use nearby rich resources like coal, iron, sulfur, marble and a hundred other minerals.

The southwest highway to the sea is the best road ever constructed in the Southwestern region, and the only highway leading to the sea. It is also the third main road which acts as a corridor for connecting several provinces for economic development.

It is China's third trunk line completed after the Beijing-Shenyang expressway and Beijing-Shanghai expressway and also the first sea gateway in west China.

(People?s Daily December 5, 2001)