China’s Guoliang, Kunshan tunnel and Xiyagou hanging wall highway

It is the world's ninth largest miracle of artificial digging. It’s rather difficult to find these tunnel roads. They are located in a very remote region deep into China. If you want to get there, you should start your trip in Xinxiang, a city in the Henan province.

Guoliang tunnel located in the Taihang Mountains of China. It is a natural village of Taihang mountain. Guoliang village is located on guoliang cliff. In the past, people walk through a valley surrounded by steep cliffs is the only way down the mountain, and then climb a series of cut out stone steps. Cut off from the rest of the world, unless a road could be constructed trough the cliffs.

This all changed in 1971. The villagers decided to dig the tunnel road themselves. It was their only hope to get connected to the rest of the world. Without any training, the construction of the tunnel was very dangerous. Farmers were working with explosives on the steep cliffs. Some of them died in fatal accidents, but the others kept on digging. Finally, known as “Cliff promenade” the tunnel was opened to traffic. The tunnel is about 5 meters high (15 ft) and 4 meters (12 ft) wide. It is wide enough for two vehicles to pass.

Xiyagou hanging wall highway and Kunshan Tunnel

Not so far away from Guoliang, but located deeper into the Taihang mountains, there are two other villages who connected themselves to the world by means of a Kunshan tunnel  and Xiyagou hanging wall highway. Kunshan is very little is known about it, but just as the other tunnels it was constructed by farmers to create an easy access to their village. The pictures speak for themselves. The road would spiral across the surface of a cliff with windows along the way to remove the crushed rocks, just like the villagers in the nearby Guoliang had done it.