Constructed in 1954, the Qinghai-Xinjiang Highway, also known as the China National Highway 315 (G315) runs west from Xining, Qinghai towards Kashgar, Xinjiang. It is 3,063 kilometres (1,903 mi) in length. In 1994 the departments of communication and transportation in Qinghai and Xinjiang began the process of updating the highway. In the west it follows the desert Qaidam Basin south of the traditional Silk Road, crosses the Altyn-Tagh into Xinjiang, and then follows the south side of the Tarim Basin to Kashgar.