THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Department of Civil Engineering

CIVL6083

Practical Design and Construction of

Tunnels in Hong Kong

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Tunnels in Mainland China
“China Current” Videos on Tunnels, Tunnelling
and Smart City Underground (~3 minutes)
• https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/22806/tunnels-construction-in-china (2021-11-15)
• https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/23032/long-tunnels-construction (2021-11-29)
• https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/23068/difficult-tunnels-construction (2021-12-14)
• https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/22807/worlds-highest-highway-tunnel-in-tibet
(2021-11-22)
• https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/20528/tunnelling-shield-in-china (2020-11-02)
• https://chinacurrent.com/story/20670/smart-city-beneath (2020-12-11)

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https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/22806/tunnels-
construction-in-china (2021-11-15)
• Due to its mountainous terrain, China has rapidly developed its tunnelling
technologies for constructing its transport infrastructure in the last two decades. It
now has a world record length of tunnels.
• With an area of 9.6 million km2, China has a road network of about 37,000 km
(close to the length of the Equator).
• At 秦嶺, there are 7 tunnels of over 10 km, some of which are longer than 18 km.
In 貴州, there are 1,400 tunnels, amongst which the high speed rail from 貴州 to
廣州 has more than half of its 857 km runs inside tunnels. The railway from 蘭州
to 重慶 (蘭渝鐵路) is 850 km long, connected by 396 bridges and 226 tunnels.
• China’s tunnels now have many different forms and constructions.

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https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/23032/long-
tunnels-construction (2021-11-29)
• China has rapidly developed its tunnelling technologies, as reflected by the length
of tunnels it has constructed.
• In the1950s, at the railway connecting 陝西寶雞 and 四川成都 (寶成鐵路, being
the first connecting NW and SW), 80% of its length are through mountains. Due
to its level of technology at that time, the majority of its 304 tunnels were less than
1 km long, with the longest being 2.3 km.
• In 1988, the 14 km long 大瑤山 railway tunnel started operation, becoming
China’s first tunnel exceeding 10 km long. The length of many other tunnels (e.g.
烏鞘嶺) has now exceeded 20 km.
• In recent years, drill and blast tunnels are constructed using drilling rigs with
multiple booms for installation of explosives.

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https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/23068/difficult-
tunnels-construction (2021-12-14)
• Constructing railway tunnels in the complex geological conditions at 雲南大理 is
very challenging. The rocks are very weak and fractured, and there are large
aquifers with high water pressures within the mountains, which can cause massive
inflows into the excavated tunnel under the high water head.
• It took 12 years to construct the 14.5 km long 大柱山 tunnel of the 雲南大理 to
瑞麗 railway.
• The 大柱山 tunnel is believed to be historically the most difficult tunnel to
construct in China. With its completion, there is a now a significant breakthrough
in mass transport between 雲南 and the Southeast Asian countries.

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https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/22807/worlds-
highest-highway-tunnel-in-tibet (2021-11-22)
• The 米拉山 road tunnel in Tibet started operation in 2019. This road runs from
「雪域小江南」林芝 to「日光城」拉薩. With fascinating scenic views along its
route, it is known as the “the most beautiful road in China”.
• The distance from 林芝 city to 拉薩 city is 520 km, which requires more than 10
hours of driving. The old road had to pass through the 拉薩 mountain of 5,013 m
high. The original road was very narrow and dangerous to drive through.
• The 米拉山 tunnel is a 5.7 km long road tunnel. It is not easy to construct a tunnel
at a high altitude. The construction team constructed a 1 km long inclined adit,
with a vertical drop of 100 m, at 4,890 m above sea level. This had allowed
concurrent excavation at 8 ‘faces’ along the tunnel.

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https://chinacurrent.com/hk/story/20528/tunnellin
g-shield-in-china (2020-11-02)
• In recent decades, China has been expanding its high speed rail network (with an
annual target of ~30,000 km) and has built some large tunnels. Tunnel boring
machines (TBMs) have contributed much towards this infrastructure expansion
initiative.
• In the mainland, a TBM is called a 盾構機.
• In the past, China depended on Germany and the US to provide TBMs for its
tunnel construction. China has now developed its own TBM technologies. In 2008,
China launched its first locally developed TBM.
• In the last 15 years, China has produced a lot of TBMs reaching the world
technology standard. Many TBMs have since been exported to Russia, India,
France, etc., reducing the price by about 40%.
• The largest TBM「京華號」was launched in a 湖南 factory in September 2020.
Its first job was in the improvement project at Beijing’s 東六環. Aligning with the
city’s culture, the cutters are painted in red, as in Peking Opera 京劇臉譜，
representing loyalty, bravery and righteousness (忠勇義烈).

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https://chinacurrent.com/story/20670/smart-city-
beneath (2020-12-11)
• China’s Xi’an is known around the globe for its terracotta sculptures. But that’s
not the only story hidden beneath the city’s surface. Xi’an is set to become the
world’s next leading smart city with underground infrastructure at the forefront of
its innovation.
• In ancient China, the city was a beginning point of the Silk Road. Now, Xi’an is
home to nearly 12 million people, and is a landmark spot on China’s new Belt and
Road Initiative. This video explores the history of the city and its infrastructural
plans to lead China into the future.

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