The Zongsi tunnel on Lijiang-Shangri-La railway, the first of its kind surrounded by weak rocks that often cause large deformation, was holed through on March 27, after 1,424-day hard work by hundreds of rail builders.

The 2,205-meter tunnel is one of the key projects on the Lijiang-Shangri-La railway, lying around 3,400 meters above sea level. The tunneling provides valuable lessons for similar projects in northwest Yunnan.

As part of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway, the Lijiang-Shangri-La rail section passes through the spectacular Jade-Dragon Snow Mountain, the Haba Snow Mountain and the Tiger Leaping Gorge, making itself a most beautiful facility.

Reporting by Li Chenghan, Zhang Fan, Li Hejun and Dai Rui (Yunnan Daily); trans-editing by Wang Shixue