(251225) -- URUMQI, Dec. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 23, 2025 shows a view of Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, and the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains via the tunnel, will be open to traffic by the end of this year, enabling a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Xinjiang.
The 22.13-kilometer tunnel will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes.
Once operational, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, will be shortened from seven hours to about three hours. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
