Why China Decided Mountains Should No Longer Be Obstacles

Описание: Why China Decided Mountains Should No Longer Be Obstacles

In some mountainous regions of China, mountains stopped being obstacles to navigate around. They were pierced for dozens of kilometers to create direct transportation routes, instead of accepting isolation or longer roads.

This is the story of two tunnels: the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel—13.75 miles straight through the Tianshan Mountains, built by 3,000 workers in five years—and the Guoliang Tunnel—carved by hand through a cliff face by 13 villagers with hammers and chisels over five years.

One cost $3.8 billion. The other was built with sold goats and determination.
Both represent the same decision: mountains are temporary. Roads are permanent.

This is the story of when that decision was made, what it made possible, and what it means to transform entire mountains into simple layers of rock to tunnel through.

🔍 SOURCES:
China Daily - "World's longest expressway tunnel opens to traffic, crossing Tianshan Mountains" (Dec 2025)
Wikipedia - "Tianshan Shengli Tunnel" (Jan 2026)
Xinhua - "China Focus: World's longest expressway tunnel opens to traffic in Xinjiang" (Dec 2025)
Constructible UK - "China once again makes construction history" (Jan 2026)
South China Morning Post - "China's mega expressway tunnel opens in Xinjiang" (Dec 2025)
Interesting Engineering - "China opens world's longest expressway tunnel at 9,842 feet altitude" (Dec 2025)
Dangerous Roads - "Guoliang Tunnel was dug through the side of a mountain by hand" (2024)

#tianshan #tunnel #china


Insider is about what happens after a country pours concrete — not the debate that came before.