Near the town of Darvaza in north-central Turkmenistan, there's a "mysterious pit" that has burned with fierce flames day and night for over 50 years. Known as the "Door of Hell," the Darvaza natural gas crater has become a striking symbol of Turkmenistan's vast natural gas resources.
Turkmenistan holds the fourth-largest natural gas reserves in the world, and the industry is a cornerstone of its economy.
In 2007, construction began on the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline in Turkmenistan. Spanning over 1,800 kilometers, the cross-border pipeline runs from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China. By 2024, it had delivered over 500 billion cubic meters of gas.