Rapid development of road network in China over the past 60 years
August 26th, 2009 | No Comments
With the opening of five national roads running east to west and seven from north to south, driving on the highway will be a priority for the Chinese who go traveling by car. According to Chen Jiangong, vice president of Chinese Association of Writers, the highway is not only easier to travel, but also a new lifestyle.
Driver passenger bus on the highway between Kou and Zheng Zhou Zhou, Wang seems to be happy to accomplish a mission in two hours. “10 years ago, one way took me all day when there was still no highway between these two cities,” says Wang.
In 1949, the total length of roads was approximately 80 000 km only in China. Road communication was a bottleneck for the development of national economy. At the end of 2008, road length totaled 3.73 million kilometers, of whom about 60 302 km of motorways, or 46 times the length of the beginning of the republic.
Network planning highways began in the 1970s, and development began in the 1980s to experience a growing business in the early 21st century. According to professionals, highway construction in China began half a century later than in Western countries, but its development has been rapid.
In 1988, the opening of the Shanghai-Jiading Highway marked the beginning of the history of the motorways of mainland China. The length of highways over 10 000 km in 1999 and 60 000 km in 2008. It took just under 12 years to go from zero to 10 000 km and 9 years from 10 000 km 60 000 km. With this rapid growth, the length of highways in mainland China ranks second worldwide, behind only the United States.
The level of development of the motorway is not only the speed and efficiency of the country but also modernizing its economy. Under the national plan for highway development in 2020, the length of highways will reach 100 000 km of mainland China.
