File Photo: A bullet train runs in a tunnel. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)

Offshore drilling has been completed in east China's Zhejiang Province for the construction of the country's first undersea high-speed railway tunnel.

Construction workers finished the drilling on Saturday, laying a foundation for the construction of the 16.2-km Jintang undersea tunnel linking the Jintang islet of Zhoushan and the coastal area of Ningbo, said Shi Chao, project manager for the offshore drilling of the tunnel.

The tunnel is an important facility for the 77-km high-speed railway line connecting cities of Ningbo and Zhoushan in the province, which will end the history of the Zhoushan islands without railway lines.

 According to the maritime affairs bureau of Ningbo, online approval and inspection were adopted amid the novel coronavirus epidemic to ensure the construction progress.