China opens world's longest expressway tunnel in Xinjiang

China on Friday opened to traffic a 22.13-km-long tunnel, which it claimed to be the "world's longest", in Xinjiang province. The Tianshan Shengli tunnel, which traverses through the central Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has reduced a treacherous mountain journey of several hours to about 20 minutes, official media reported. According to Song Hailiang, chairman of China Communications Construction Company, the tunnel has “set two world records”.

Stretching 2,500 kilometers, the Tianshan Mountains span central Xinjiang, separating Urumqi, the largest city in the north, from Korla, the largest city in the south. With the opening of the expressway, travel time between these two major cities is reduced from 7 hours to approximately 3 hours, promoting economic integration between northern and southern Xinjiang and creating new channels for external exchanges. The expressway, constructed over five years, spans 324.7 kilometers with a total investment of about 6.63 billion U.S. dollars.

22.13 kilometers! China just opened the world’s longest highway tunnel across a mountain range to traffic in Xinjiang.

China named the tunnel Tianshan Victory. Why? Because it cuts through 16 geofracture zones and is without doubt a world marvel of engineering. pic.twitter.com/FGM34fyqia

— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) December 26, 2025

The tunnel's construction saw world-class challenges due to its extraordinary scale. It spans 22.13 kilometers, reaches a maximum burial depth of 1,112.2 meters, crosses 16 geological fault zones and faces five major difficulties -- high ground stress, high seismic intensity, stringent environmental requirements, extreme cold and high altitude. Work started on the expressway in April 2020.