BRIng smiles on more faces

The faded photos in Tulanbay Kurbanov's albums are his treasure.

With them, he often shares with his two daughters his childhood stories back in Andizhan, his hometown on the southeastern edge of the Fergana Valley near Uzbekistan's border with Kyrgyzstan.

Seven-year-old Zaringiz and three-year-old Mehrangiz, who now live with Kurbanov in the capital city of Tashkent, are familiar with the smile on their father's face when he indulges himself in appreciating the old photos. But they are yet to visit Andizhan in person.

Workers celebrate the upcoming hole-through of the Qamchiq Tunnel at the construction site in Uzbekistan, on Feb. 22, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Easier way home

Kurbanov called his hometown a "wonderland" with lush mountains, clean air, delicious fruits and rich mineral resources.

However, craggy mountains had blocked the contact between Andizhan, one of the oldest cities in the Fergana Valley, and the outside world.

Every time Kurbanov went back to Andizhan, he had to take a detour through Tajikistan, which usually took him a whole day due to the redundant procedures at two security checkpoints.

Some Western countries initially planned to help Uzbekistan build a tunnel through the Qurama mountains in the 1990s. But field observations stumped all engineering companies.

To spare a grueling journey for his kids, Kurbanov has not taken them back to Andizhan. But it will not be the case any more.

In 2016, the Qamchiq Tunnel, with a length of 19.2 km, was put into use after three years of construction, thanks to the joint efforts by workers from China Railway Tunnel Group and the Uzbek Railways.

The tunnel, the longest of its kind in Central Asia, leads through seven geologic faults. It is part of the 169-km Angren-Pap railway line, which connects Tashkent with eastern Uzbekistan.

A train is seen near the entrance of the Qamchiq Tunnel, part of the Angren-Pap railway line, in Uzbekistan, Feb. 27, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Kurbanov said it now only takes about 15 minutes to go through the Qurama mountains by train, and the journey between Tashkent and Andizhan has been slashed to about six hours.

Easier transportation will allow Zaringiz and Mehrangiz to better understand the smile of their father as well as the beauty of the Fergana Valley.

"It is a major achievement of the Belt and Road Initiative that China and Uzbekistan are jointly promoting, and also a new link of friendship and cooperation connecting the peoples of both countries," visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping said when attending the inauguration ceremony of the tunnel in 2016.

The tunnel has also boosted trade as fresh fruit can be delivered out of the valley faster, said local residents in Andizhan.

Proposed by China in 2013 to promote common growth and shared benefits, the BRI involves infrastructure development, trade and investment facilitation and people-to-people exchanges that aim to improve connectivity on a trans-continental scale.