After 15 years of sheer determination, a woman and her fellow villagers can now contact the rest of the world through a single tunnel.

Courageous Deng Yingxiang guided the group as they chiselled through a mountain using only hammers and manpower in Mahuai Village, south China's Guizhou Province, reports The People’s Daily Online.

Residents in the village had lived in isolation for years, so they built the 650-foot tunnel in order to communicate and trade with people on the other side of the mountain.

Lifeline: Entrance to a tunnel that totally transformed Mahuai Village, in south China thanks to Deng Yingxiang

Determined: Deng Yingxiang walks through the tunnel that was built after she rallied residents for help in China

The artificial underpass comes out onto a road, connecting the village to civilisation.

People in the village have been living in poverty over the years, the tunnel connecting them to the road now allows them to trade.

Deng Yingxiang led the masses in 1999, together they hammered away to make the passage after she became tired of not being able to travel long distances to interact with other people.

As the village became extremely poor, the original roads that were built on top of the mountain gradually became impassable.

The nearest road to the village capable of holding vehicles is currently located two hours away, this was not good enough for Deng Yingxiang.

Inside the village, before the tunnel was completed residents did not have any power and the way for the children to get to school was too dangerous, this tunnel now makes everything possible.

Originally, one of the villagers accidentally discovered a 130-foot-long natural cave. Deng Yingxiang then made the decision to extend the cave and build a tunnel.

Strong woman: Deng Yingxiang encouraged the villagers to build a tunnel so they could trade with the world

She told reporters, when they first started to burrow the tunnel it was a lot more difficult than they had originally imagined.

It was so shallow at one stage they had to dig on their stomachs and chisel above their heads.

As well as digging out the tunnel, Den Yingxiang made sure they reinforced it so it would not collapse when people passed through.

Even when they thought they had completed the tunnel, strong minded Deng Yingxiang encouraged the villagers and insisted it needed to be better.

An unnamed villager said: ‘We were satisfied with this cave, but Deng didn’t think like this, she thought residents in our village should be able to ride motorbikes and even drive cars, so she went into each single family to encourage them to carry on, widen the cave and strengthen the ceiling.’

‘She helped us find sponsorship and her daughter came to work in her place. In order to dig the case, her husband was deafened by explosion and lost her nails. What do you think she did this for?’ said the villager.

Residents can now grow crops, use agricultural vehicles and drive vans, this has led to new houses being built at a fast pace and more money coming into the village, 80% of the villagers currently live in new houses.