The Mengyang Tunnel, a key project along the Yuxi-Mohan section of China-Laos railway, was dug through on December 5. The tunnel was designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and constructed by China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co., Ltd.  

The Mengyang Tunnel is located in Mengyang, also dubbed a town of Asian elephants, in Jinghong, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The construction of the tunnel, which has a total length of 13.538 kilometers, had been underway for five years.

To avoid disturbing the elephants, the construction team dug the tunnel underneath the wild elephant nature reserve. As a key project along the railway, the Mengyang Tunnel features complicated and volatile geographical conditions. It passes through faults, shallow-buried sections, expressway and water-rich areas, which pose potential risks of landslide, bedding lateral pressure, water burst, high ground stress and radiation and gas leakage.