KUNMING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A tunnel along the railway connecting China and Laos was drilled through Saturday, according to China Railway 15 Bureau Group Co., Ltd.
The Mengla Tunnel, located in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, is 13,000 meters long.
Construction of the tunnel went smoothly despite many geological difficulties.
The China-Laos railway is more than 1,000 kms long, which links Kunming, capital of Yunnan, and Vientiane. It is expected to open by the end of 2021 and will slash the travel time between the two cities to half a day.
