It takes visitors from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, four hours by train or bus to reach Bazhong, if they want to view the famous display of autumn leaves in this city in the easternmost part of the province.
Many complain that to get there more quickly, they have to take a train bound for Hanzhong in neighboring Shaanxi province. From there, they can take a taxi to Bazhong's Nanjiang county, part of a former revolutionary base on the border between Sichuan and Shaanxi, which is best known for its autumn leaves.
▲ A paved road winds through plantations in Bazhong, Sichuan province. China Daily
But visitors will now find that it's faster to reach those leaves thanks to the transportation boom kicked off by the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, decision-makers in Bazhong said.
Cashing in on the area's construction, Bazhong should be reachable from Chengdu and Chongqing within two hours by 2025, and within an hour and a half by 2035, according to He Ping, secretary of the Bazhong committee of the Communist Party of China.
Located in a mountainous area, Bazhong was made famous by a poem written by Li Shangyin, the late Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet who composed To My Family in the North on a Rainy Night in Nanjiang while he was on his way home to Shaanxi.
▲ Improved transportation has brought more tourists to Enyang Old Town in Bazhong. China Daily
After overnight rain, the dirt roads through the mountains in Nanjiang had become inaccessible, leaving Li stranded for several days.
'You ask me when I will come back, but I don't know. The pools in Nanjiang with autumn rain overflow,' he lamented in his famous poem.
The situation Li faced in the mid-ninth century remained unchanged until reform and opening-up began in the late 1970s.
▲ Colorful autumn leaves are one of the tourist attractions in Bazhong. China Daily
Sanxi village is just 9.5 kilometers from the Nanjiang county seat, but it took nearly five hours to make that journey in 1978 because there was only one path.
Steep and with 1,270 steps, when a farmer wanted to sell a pig at the county seat, he had to ask for help to carry it, and if the path was slippery, sometimes the pig got dropped and died. People also slipped and got injured, Sanxi resident Wang Xianpeng, said.
After reform and opening-up began, Nanjiang began to give priority to improving transportation and now has 6,290 km of roads, 5,776 km of which are in the countryside. Every village is now connected to a road, which facilitates the sale of local produce such as walnuts, selenium tea and honeysuckle, said Yue Xudong, an information officer at the county government.
Nanjiang honeysuckle has obtained geographic certification and is known for clearing heat and toxins from the body, he said.
▲ The Bazhong-Shaanxi Expressway stretches across part of Bazhong, Sichuan province. China Daily
The changes in Nanjiang epitomize the staggering improvement to transportation in Bazhong, which has undergone three rounds of construction in the years since reform and opening-up began.
There are 25,561 km of road and 430 km of expressways in Bazhong. Every district and county in the city has access to an expressway, and Enyang Airport offers flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
With a world geopark, 20 national AAAA-level tourist attractions and better transportation, Bazhong can become the 'back garden' for vacationers from Chengdu and Chongqing, said He Ping, adding that Bazhong is now focused on building up its food and beverage sectors to become a produce production center for Chengdu and Chongqing.
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