World’s longest expressway tunnel opens in China’s Xinjiang

The world’s longest expressway tunnel has opened to traffic in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The 22.13-kilometre Tianshan Shengli Tunnel runs through the heart of the Tianshan Mountains. It has reduced a difficult mountain journey that once took several hours to just 20 minutes.

The tunnel is part of the G0711 Urumqi–Yuli Expressway, which also began operations on the same day. The route is a key link between northern and southern Xinjiang.

The Tianshan mountain range stretches about 2,500kms across central Xinjiang. It separates Urumqi, the region’s largest city in the north, from Korla, the largest city in the south.

With the expressway now open, travel time between the two cities has dropped from around seven hours to about three hours.

Built over five years, the expressway spans 324.7kms and cost 46.7b yuan (around $6.63b).

Through existing expressways, the new route connects Xinjiang with major economic regions such as Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu–Chongqing region.

The expressway will strengthen links between northern and southern Xinjiang, support economic growth, and open new routes for trade and exchanges with countries across Eurasia.