(XINHUA)

Local authorities in Medog in Tibet Autonomous Region, the last county in China to be connected to the national road network, announced on November 13 it would decrease visiting tourists to fewer than 15,000 annually, by 2015.

A highway linking Zhamog Township, the county seat of Bome County, and Medog in southeast Tibet (as shown in the picture) opened on October 31, putting an end to the isolation of a region once dubbed the "secret lotus."

The county government of Medog published a document on establishing a better tourism industry by preserving the natural and cultural landscape as well as exploring new routes for hikers.