The builders of the Mt. Tsongla Ringmo Tunnel are busy with resistance welding, photo from Xinhua.

The builders of the Mt. Tsongla Ringmo Tunnel are busy drilling the tunnel, photo from Xinhua.

Funded with 557 mln yuan (about 74 mln USD), the ongoing Xining-Jiuzhi Highway Mt. Tsongla Ringmo Tunnel, Qinghai's first longest high-altitude highway tunnel, is expected to complete in 2009, which will facilitate the economy and tourism industry in the southern part of northwest China's Qinghai Province. With a total length of 9.185 kilometers, the Xining-Jiuzhi Highway Mt. Tsongla Ringmo Tunnel lies in the middle between  Xining (capital of Qinghai Province) and Guide County (in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province), 4,041 meters above the sea level.