A 9.5-km tunnel on the Kunming-Vientiane Railway linking China with Laos was drilled through on Saturday, marking new progress in the construction of the railway slated to open by the end of this year.
Located in Jinghong City in southwest China's Yunnan Province, the Xishuangbanna Tunnel stretches through the Lancang River fault zone. Construction workers have tackled complicated geological conditions since the project commenced.
By now, all 167 tunnels on the rail line have been holed through.
The 1,000 km cross-border railway, a major project under the Belt and Road Initiative, will slash the travel time between Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, and the Laotian capital Vientiane to half a day.
