Published : 2025-05-31
On May 31, 1984, China's Southern Xinjiang Railway (南疆鐵路), which traverses the Tianshan Mountains, was fully opened to traffic.
The Southern Xinjiang Railway is the main railway line in Xinjiang, starting from Urumqi in Xinjiang along the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway to Turpan, then turning west and passing through the Tianshan Mountains via Korla, Aksu, Artux to Kashgar, the westernmost city of China.
The total length of the railway is 1,446 kilometres. The section that was opened on this day covers a length of more than 400 kilometres, surrounding the Tianshan from Turpan to Korla.
This section of the railway basically extends along the middle route of the ancient "Silk Road.
The geological, geomorphological, and climatic conditions along the way are very complex. There is not only scorching Gobi deserts with temperatures of 45°C but also the Daban (mountain passes) at -40°C.
More than half of the railway line passes through the Tianshan Canyon, where 30 tunnels need to be built, with a total of 33 kilometres. Moreover, up to 463 bridges are constructed.
Additionally, the railway passes through a continuous steep slope with a maximum gradient of 22% and a length of more than 240 kilometres, which is very rare in the history of railway construction in China.
Especially in the section of Quishen Daban, where the altitude rises from 800 metres to above 3,000 metres, the construction team built seven spiral tunnels, among which the "Kuishen Tunnel" is regarded one of the highest and longest tunnels in China, with a distance of more than 6,000 metres.
Despite facing many construction difficulties, with the years of efforts by the construction team, the roadbed project of the first phase of the Southern Xinjiang Railway from Turpan to Korla was finally completed in 1979, and the tracks were successfully laid to Korla West Station in August of that year.
In 1984, China organised experts and scholars from various fields to inspect the railway, and finally the railway passed the verification successfully.
In September 1996, China decided to build the western section of the Southern Xinjiang Railway, which is the section from Korla to Kashgar.
After three years of construction, this section was officially opened to traffic in December 1999, which means that the entire Southern Xinjiang Railway from Turpan to Kashgar was fully connected.
This greatly improves the transportation between the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and lays the foundation for the economic development of the Tarim Basin and the future construction of railways.
