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New Expressway Tunnel Opens To Traffic In Xinjiang - China

An aerial drone photo shows the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Hejing County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 26, 2025. The 22.13-km Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, officially opened to traffic on Friday. Traversing the central Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the tunnel slashes what was once a several-hour mountain drive to just 20 minutes. As a vital artery linking city clusters in northern and southern Xinjiang, the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, including the tunnel, entered operation on the same day. Photo by Hu Huhu/Xinhua/ABACAPRESS.COM

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World's Longest Expressway Tunnel - Urumqi

An aerial drone photo taken on December 23, 2025 shows a vehicle on the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Hejing County, 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. Photo by Wang Fei/Xinhua/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Taklimakan Desert Control Afforestation - China

An aerial drone photo taken on April 11, 2025 shows a forest park in Hejing County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-l

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Taklimakan Desert Control Afforestation - China

Fu Guoxi checks the trees at a green belt built by his father Fu Zhizhou in Hejing County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 11, 2025. Over the past four decades, Fu Zhizhou had planted more than 800,000 trees and his son Fu Guoxi took over the cause after his father passed away in 2024. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest affor

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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Starry Sky

HEJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 13, 2024 - Kerguti Scenic Area under the Starry Sky, October 13, 2024, Hejing County, Xinjiang, China.

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