How a tunnel reshapes daily life in Xinjiang

In winter, the Tianshan Mountains in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region feel less like scenery and more like a barrier.

Snow can close high passes without warning. Ice tightens its grip on narrow mountain roads. On some days, driving between northern and southern Xinjiang slows to a crawl; on others, it grinds to a halt. Drivers wait. Plans shift. Journeys are postponed.

For years, crossing the range meant following narrow roads carved into steep terrain — roads that climbed, dipped, and wound along the mountainside. A single trip could take almost a day, sometimes even longer when the weather turned.

A recent trip to the area told me a totally different story. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, one of the most ambitious efforts to improve connectivity in China's western region, opened to traffic in December, 2025. Since then, a journey that once took four hours has been reduced to about 20 minutes.

I was struck by the sheer scale of the project — stretching 22 kilometers through the mountains, it is the world's longest expressway tunnel. What's even more impressive is the engineering feat behind it. The tunnel was built at elevations exceeding 2,800 meters and cuts through at least 16 geological fault zones, where rock conditions can shift abruptly, pressure can trigger sudden bursts of fractured stones, and temperatures can plummet below -40°C. The completion of the project itself is a miracle: more than 3,000 workers labored in thin air for five years, and it cost an estimated 26.8 billion yuan (roughly $38 billion).

Projects like this are likely to invite the question: is it worth spending years and billions of dollars to build a road through a mountain that has stood here for thousands of years?

In a video clip I recently came across, a Uyghur tour guide answered the question convincingly, citing her own experience growing up in southern Xinjiang. As she recalled, traveling across the Tianshan Mountains used to take hours, sometimes an entire day. In winter, when travel was at the mercy of the weather, even that was uncertain. Now, it is just about a 20-minute ride. The real value of a project is measured more by the difference it makes to people's lives than anything else, she noted.

Across Xinjiang, geography and climate have long shaped people's mobility. The region is often described as divided into the north and the south, with the Tianshan Mountains standing in between as a natural barrier. Northern Xinjiang includes major urban and industrial centers such as Urumqi, while the south is more closely associated with agricultural and pastoral life.

For the locals, the tunnel is a big deal, tangibly changing not only how they lead their lives, but also the way they do business.

Fruit from southern orchards now reaches northern markets with greater reliability. Dairy and meat products move more quickly across the region. Industrial goods from northern cities circulate more efficiently toward the south. Access to services — from hospitals to schools — has become much easier. Family reunions that once required careful planning can now take place whenever you wish, even in winter.

Large infrastructure projects are often defined in terms of scale — construction duration, cost, engineering complexity, and the like. Yet what tends to stay with people goes beyond the numbers. It is found in the willingness to take on challenges, the persistence to navigate years of uncertainty, and the determination to meet people's everyday needs.

The mountains are still there. But they no longer stand in the way of the people getting where they need to go. Barrier removed. Connectivity built.

The author is a commentator on international affairs. 

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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