Xinjiang – China has officially opened the world's longest highway tunnel, a 22-kilometer-long tunnel traversing the treacherous Tian Shan Mountains.  The tunnel reduces a previously three-hour journey across rugged mountain roads to just 20 minutes, connecting the often-turbulent northern and southern parts of Xinjiang more closely than ever before.

Dubbed the "Tian Shan Victory Tunnel," the project represents a feat of engineering that pushed the limits of what was thought possible, in what builders called a "geological hell." Engineers overcame 16 fault lines, rock so soft it crumbled at a touch, and immense pressure exceeding 200 kilograms per square centimeter. To conquer these challenges, they employed unprecedented tunnel boring technology and China's first "three-tunnel parallel" scheme, shortening the construction time from ten years to five.

Beyond its record-breaking capacity, the tunnel has delivered tangible benefits. During and after construction, it created over 2,700 local jobs, with over 80% filled by ethnic minorities. It has also boosted tourism and economic exchange between different regions of Xinjiang.

The project prioritized ecological protection near sensitive glaciers and snow leopard habitats. Builders constructed three wastewater treatment plants to purify all tunnel discharge, ensuring no contamination of protected water sources.

As a crucial component of Xinjiang's expanding "seven horizontal and eight vertical" transportation network, the tunnel transforms the region into a hub. Now, approximately 3,000 kilometers from any major Chinese city to the east and roughly the same distance from Central Asian countries to the west, it has transformed a historical barrier into a modern thoroughfare.Editor/Cao Tianyi