World’s longest expressway tunnel in China is now open to traffic; know why it has been made

China has officially opened the world’s longest expressway tunnel in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, marking a major milestone in the country’s ambitious push to strengthen transport links across its vast western frontiers. As per a report published by South China Morning Post on December 26, 2025, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, stretching 22.13 kilometres, is now open to traffic, after five years of construction. This expressway tunnel dramatically reduces travel time through the formidable Tianshan mountain range. This is a great step towards reinforcing Xinjiang’s strategic importance in domestic and international trade corridors.The tunnel is the core of the Urumqi–Yuli Expressway, a project designed to bridge the long-standing geographic divide between northern and southern Xinjiang. As the tunnel is now operational, the seven-hour long trip across the mountains is now completed in approximately three and a half hours. The journey through the mountains has been reduced to just 20 minutes (approximately).The news report also states that the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel has set two world records.Needless to say, the tunnel’s construction also meant a lot of processes took place that were rarely attempted by anyone at this scale. At its deepest point, the tunnel runs 1,112 metres below the altitude of its entrance, while several access shafts were drilled more than 700 metres beneath the surface to transport workers, machinery, and materials to the construction face.Work on the Urumqi–Yuli Expressway began in April 2020, but progress and further construction was anything but routine (read full of challenges). The tunnel cuts through terrain of nearly 3,000 metres above sea level. In such conditions, construction crews faced not only hard rock formations but also some of the harshest working conditions seen in modern infrastructure projects. Not to forget temperatures plunging as low as minus 42 degrees Celsius. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel was planned with clear economic and strategic objectives in mind. Xinjiang’s vast territory also meant logistical challenges like mountain ranges and deserts limiting the movement of goods and people. So, by cutting directly through the Tianshan Mountains, the expressway creates a faster route between Urumqi, the regional capital and industrial hub in the north, and cities such as Korla in southern Xinjiang.The expressway is seen as a key component of China’s efforts to strengthen overland links with Central and South Asia under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For those unaware, Xinjiang shares borders with eight countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, positioning it as a natural gateway between China and Eurasia. Improved road connectivity through the region enhances access to multiple economic corridors that link Chinese markets with Central Asian republics and beyond.Another interesting project in the pipeline is the incredibly ambitious 1,980-kilometre railway line connecting Hotan in Xinjiang to Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region. This project is often described as another “project of the century.” Like the expressway tunnel, the railway involves extreme engineering challenges and is expected to enhance regional integration, transport efficiency, and national security.With traffic now flowing through the world’s longest expressway tunnel, China has demonstrated both its engineering capabilities and its determination to reshape connectivity across its most challenging landscapes.