China’s Guoliang Tunnel opened to traffic in 1977.
The tunnel opened on 1 May 1977 in Henan Province, linking Guoliang Village with the outside world through the Taihang Mountains. Before construction, villagers relied on an extremely difficult path cut into the mountainside, leaving the settlement relatively isolated.
Local villagers led by Shen Mingxin began planning the road in 1972. They sold livestock to raise money for tools and materials, then excavated the route largely by hand with hammers and chisels. Thirteen villagers undertook the work, and one died during construction. At the hardest points, progress was reportedly only about one metre every three days.
The tunnel is approximately 1.25 kilometres long, about 5 metres high and roughly 4 metres wide. Its exposed cliffside windows make it visually distinctive and have helped turn Guoliang into a tourist destination. The tunnel is sometimes confused with the nearby cliff road as a separate structure, but both are parts of the access route carved into the mountain.