China has built more than 50,000 kilometers of railway and highway tunnels, achieving the world’s largest scale and the highest number of tunnels, according to materials released during the 2025 General Assembly of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) in Shanghai.

China's tunnel construction has overcome a host of complex engineering challenges, delivering world-class landmark projects such as the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge undersea tunnel and the Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link, placing the country at the forefront of global underwater immersed tunnel, shield tunnel and ultra-long tunnel construction technologies.

A key driver behind this progress is the rapid advancement of Chinese shield machine technology, which has provided strong technical and equipment support for the nation's tunnel engineering development.

Currently, several large-scale projects are under construction, including the Jiaozhou Bay Second Undersea Tunnel, the world's largest subsea highway tunnel, and the Ningbo-Zhoushan High-Speed Railway Jintang Undersea Tunnel, which will be the world's longest undersea high-speed rail tunnel upon completion.

At the World Tunnel Congress in April 2024, nine Chinese projects—including the Dayao Mountain Tunnel, Jiaozhou Bay Second Undersea Tunnel, Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link Undersea Tunnel, and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge Undersea Tunnel—were listed among the world's 50 landmark tunnel and underground engineering projects, making China the country with the most entries.

In recent years, China's bridge construction has also reached new heights, driving the development of a strong transportation network. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou Province hailed as “world number one in both height and span,” stands 625 meters above the river below, making it the world's tallest bridge. Stretching 2,890 meters in total length with a 1,420-meter main span, it also holds the record for the world's largest span of a steel truss suspension bridge in mountainous terrain. The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, at 164.85 kilometers, still holds the Guinness World Record as the world's longest bridge.

As the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance, China's engineering and construction technologies—alongside its high-speed rail expertise—are expanding globally. Landmark international projects such as Bangladesh's largest railway project, the Kamchiq Tunnel on the Angren–Pap Railway in Uzbekistan, the China–Laos Railway “Golden Corridor”, Indonesia's Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway, and the Hungary–Serbia Railway showcase the growing international presence and influence of Chinese engineering.