Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - June 8, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shot of railway
2. Aerial shots of construction scene
3. Aerial shot of railway
4. Shanggang No.1 Tunnel
5. Excavator working
6. Various of workers discussing
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Ming, manager, Yuxi-Mohan Railway project department of China Railway 25th Bureau Group Co., Ltd:
"First, we canceled the inclined shaft in the middle of the tunnel, saving around 40 mu (around 2.7 hectares) of forestland. Second, strict control measures have been taken in construction of projects for wastewater discharge and garbage collection. Third, we timely reclaimed and afforested the waste disposal land that we occupied. All actions have minimized the adverse impact on the local environment."
8. Various of workers working
9. Various of excavator working in tunnel
10. Aerial shots of construction scene

Construction of Shanggang No.1 Tunnel in southwest China's Yunnan Province, a key project of domestic part of China-Laos Railway, was successfully completed on Monday, making it the 68th tunnel finished among all the 93 tunnels along the railway.

Shanggang No.1 Tunnel, stretching 5.8 kilometers long, passes through a tropical rainforest area where forest coverage reaches 87 percent, rare flora and fauna are plenty, and river systems are complicated.

To protect virgin forest, wild animals and plants, the construction team adjusted its plans for several times.

"First, we canceled the inclined shaft in the middle of the tunnel, saving around 40 mu (around 2.7 hectares) of forestland. Second, strict control measures have been taken in construction of projects for wastewater discharge and garbage collection. Third, we timely reclaimed and afforested the waste disposal land that we occupied. All actions have minimized the adverse impact on the local environment," said Huang Ming, manager of Yuxi-Mohan Railway project department of China Railway 25th Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The construction of the tunnel started in 2016.

The China-Laos Railway, stretching more than 1,000 kilometers, will be open simultaneously with Boten-Vientiane part in Laos by the end of 2021.

Upon its completion, the travel time from Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province of China, to Vientiane in Laos is expected to be shortened to one day.