Episode 17 - Roads to Development

The Greater Mekong River Sub-region has probably the most hostile topography on Earth. This is a vast area where, in the past, huge mountains, rapid rivers and impenetrable forests made human contact almost impossible, but today the situation has changed, and greatly improved transportation has made contact between different human communities and economic development possible, and regional cooperation much more convenient.

Today we look at the development of regional transportation, from the distant past to the present day. We will take a walk down the ancient tea and horse path, visit a transportation hubbub Mandalay and see a flower train station in Myanmar, and travel along the Yunnan-Myanmar railway.

We will look at both ancient and contemporary means of transportation, from mule or horse drawn carts to contemporary cars, from the often-treacherous, bumpy, zigzag, ancient paths to modern highways, as consider the changes that vast improvements in transportation have brought to the lives of the local people who strive untiringly for a better future in these places nourished by the Lancang-Mekong River.

Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CCTV.com