NANNING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- With a thundering explosion, the People's Liberation Army soldiers detonated on Thursday the last mine in a minefield in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The operation marked the completion of a years-long landmine-sweeping mission in the Guangxi section of the Sino-Vietnam border, clearing the dangerous historical legacy that has hindered border development.

Hand-in-hand, soldiers ceremonially walked across part of the minefield in the border city of Pingxiang that covers more than 60,000 square meters, before handing the landmine-free field over to the locals.

Hundreds of thousands of landmines were laid along the border during confrontations between China and Vietnam from 1979 to 1989.