Mar Dim(1961-)Highway Guardian

by+Nancy+Gong

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway starts in Xining， the provincial seat of Qinghai， and ends in Lhasa， capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Open to traffic in 1954， it is the highest， longest asphalt highway in the world， with its highest point at Tanggula Pass， 5，231 meters above sea level. In winter， its surface can get as cold as minus 40 degrees centigrade.

Such a thoroughfare would not stay smooth without extensive care. Mar Dim is one of its caretakers. As head of Maintenance Squad 109， or MS109， for the 14th section in Amdo County， Mars mission is checking and maintaining a total length of over 40 kilometers.

Born in 1961， Mar follows the footsteps of his mother， a firstgeneration highway guardian. Since his childhood， he has learned to mend permafrost-cracked pavement. Traffic has been busy because the road is the best-kept， safest highway on the roof of the world. “When I was a child， I often counted 500 trucks， each carrying tons of cement or food， passing， daily，" recalls Mar.

In 1977， at the age of 16， Mar joined MS109， when the team had 40 members. They started work at 5 oclock in the morning， with shovels on their shoulders. They usually trekked two hours to their work area. Everyone was assigned a one-kilometer section.

After some time， most of the first-generation members retired. The crew shrank to a few more than 10， so each of them had to take care of three to four kilometers – in extreme cold， with little oxygen. Even with his physical strength and local background， Mar had to recharge himself with oxygen after a long day. “Actually， I didnt feel sick until after I turned 40，” he clarifies.

In 1985， the entire highway was repaved with asphalt， and mechanization represented by small loaders made maintenance easier. They started going to work in minivans， which cut travel time to an hour.

In 2001， because of construction of the Gadla section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway， the part of the highway under the care of MS109 saw a sudden growth in traffic for transporting building materials： As many as 10，000 vehicles passed over MS109s charge in just 24 hours. Mar and his colleagues camped along the highway and observed the road conditions around the clock.

Tibet has opened its door wider to the outside world thanks to the improvement of its transportation from highways to railways. During the construction of the Gadla section， Mar learned to speak some Mandarin and learned more about the outside world thanks to contact with construction workers， with whom he frequently chatted over his buttered tea.

On July 1， 2006， the 1，956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway began operation， greatly reducing the strain on the highway.“Many visitors have turned to trains，” notes Mar. “Today， most of the vehicles I see are transporting cargo. The lighter traffic flow has eased damage to the highway.”

Mar was so excited that he took his daughter on a trip by train soon after it opened. “It was really beautiful！” he exclaimed. “I know how difficult it is to build a railway like this.” The father and daughter traveled for three days. “It was a lot of fun and only cost 60 yuan for a one-way ticket，” he adds.

“Today， most of my team is over 40，” explains Mar. “And the job isnt that laborious thanks to mechanical assistance.” He retired this year， and his first daughter will work for a company devoted to road and bridge construction. “Its tough trade for a girl， but Im glad to see her carrying on my legacy.”