FILE: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shot of desert, vehicles
2. Aerial shot of asphalts unloaded from trucks onto road
3. Aerial shot of asphalt finishers working

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Signpost
5. Expressway
6. Workers painting road surface
7. Aerial shot of expressway in desert

FILE: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of workers making straw-checkerboard barriers
9. Aerial shots of expressway under construction; vehicles; workers
10. Various of road rollers working
11. Expressway under construction; vehicles; workers

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of service area along highway
13. Various of road surface
14. Aerial shot of desert

The main construction projects for the first desert-crossing expressway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was completed on Nov. 19, marking a big step toward its full operation by the end of 2021.

The 343-km-long S21 Altay-Urumqi expressway, linking Altay Prefecture and the regional capital city of Urumqi has more than 150 kilometers running through the desert.

Special asphalt varieties have been used to cope with the geographical conditions of different sections.

Sand control projects including straw-checkerboard barriers have been laid on both sides. Animal passages have also been built along the route.

With a designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the expressway is expected to shorten the travel time to four hours.