The 244-kilometer-long Ya'an-to-Xichang trans mountain expressway in Sichuan Province of southwestern China has been opened up to traffic on Jan 18, 2012. It is the final piece of China's G5 Interstate highway, connecting Beijing and Kunming.
The $3 billion highway project was funded by the central government of China in 2007 as a state-run aid program. This project is expected to play a key role in lifting millions of Tibetan, Han, Yi and Muslim Hui people in western Sichuan, the poorest but resource-rich region of China, out of poverty. As the most difficult part of the G5 Interstate, Ya'an-Xichang expressway is regarded as engineering marvels. More than half (54%) of the highway is tunnels and bridges among mountains. Ganhaizi tunnel is a rarely-seen dual-spiral tunnel, with an elevation of 800m spanning only 12km distance. Labajin bridge and Aizhai bridge are among the highest bridges in the world (
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