In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, the construction of transportation arteries in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is in full swing. At a depth of 89 meters below the mouth of the Yangtze River estuary, an underground crossing battle is underway. This is the iconic control engineering site of the high-speed railway along the Yangtze River, and also the excavation site of the world's largest diameter high-speed railway shield machine.

Entering the interior of the shield machine is like being in a five story steel maze. This underground giant dragon weighing thousands of tons is accelerating its rotation with millimeter level accuracy and advancing towards the depths of the river. It shoulders the responsibility of opening a 14 kilometer tunnel under the Yangtze River, and once completed, it will completely break the restrictions of the Yangtze River's natural dangers on high-speed rail operation, achieving high-speed crossing of the river from east to west.

As a key component of the national eight vertical and eight horizontal high-speed railway network, this underwater tunnel is not only an extreme challenge in engineering technology, but also a powerful engine for the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. When the steel giant emerges from the ground, the time and space distance between the Yangtze River Delta and the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River will be greatly compressed, paving a more solid and smooth path for the grand blueprint of national rejuvenation.Editor/Cheng Liting