China Freeways: Continuing Expansion

[cpzilliacus]

NewGeography.com: China Freeways: Continuing Expansion

Beijing's xinhuanet.com reported on December 30 that 11,000 kilometers (7,000 miles) of new freeways (motorways) were built in 2012. This is equivalent to more than 150 percent of the freeway mileage in California.

Based on figures reported at the end of 2011, the additional 11,000 kilometers would increase China's national freeway system (the National Trunk Highway System) to approximately 96,000 kilometers (60,000 miles). This is approximately 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) longer than the US interstate highway system, as reported in 2010. As a result, China's national freeway system is the longest in the world.

Both China and the United States have additional freeway segments that are not a part of the national systems. In 2010, the United States had approximately 99,000 kilometers (62,000 miles) of freeways, including the interstate system. Data is not readily available for a number of urban and provincial level freeways in China that are not a part of the National Trunk Highway System.

[3467]

I wonder what their total road milage is. I think the Chinese system is all tolled.
India built their much small sytem as expressways. I wonder what their traffic counts are.
Also does anyone know how many cars they have in China now?CCTV said Bejing had 5 million and a wait list of a million

[Chris]

I have researched the Chinese system and I found that the official numbers are continuously overstated by about 5,000 kilometers.

This has two reasons;

1) they count freeways in Taiwan as being PRC expressways
2) their numbers are likely not corrected for concurrencies, which means some routes are counted twice. Concurrencies are fairly common among Chinese National Expressways.

According my data, which includes all expressways opened in 2012 that do not show on Google Maps (the most accurate mapping of China) the Chinese expressway network is about 91,200 kilometers in length. This is just shy of the American system, which has just over 97,000 kilometers of freeway. During the past 3 years, the Chinese network expansion rate has been about 8.5 times the American network expansion rate, so China will definitely pass the United States in expressway/freeway mileage this year.

Nearly all expressways in China are tolled. This includes both national and provincial expressways. However some urban expressways are not tolled, such as the Beijing ring roads and the Shanghai elevated roads, amongst others.

[3467]

Chris do you know what kind of traffic volume they have in the rural areas?
I cant see how tolls alone would pay for them

[Chris]

I have no idea, but I think they are very low. In fact I don't see how any bank would finance a toll road in most of inland China. Toll roads have few exits, so they have to rely on long-distance traffic. Most exits are at least 10 miles and often 20 miles apart, sometimes more. There are lots of regional cities with 100,000 - 300,000 inhabitants with just two exits.

[vdeane]

I think the motorways are built to project unity more than anything else.

[3467]

The NYT had a story on the Chinese Toll roads some years ago that said the same thing you guys did. They said local villagers would just walk across them.
It also said even car owning Chinese preferred the train or plane and now they have high speed rail (post in Mass Transit)
I suspect and it is just a guess that they funded a lot of roads along with other massive buildling in the 2008 stimulus

[J N Winkler]

I suspect and it is just a guess that they funded a lot of roads along with other massive buildling in the 2008 stimulus

They did, but in practice that was an increase in a pace which was already quite fast.  The last time I looked at annual figures for opening of expressway mileage, I found that China had started its current round of construction in the late nineties and the slowest year of construction in China (2000) has seen only a little less mileage opened than the fastest in the US (1964)--1951 miles in China versus 2463.4 miles in the US.  (These figures are not adjusted for overlaps, at least in China.)

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=629905

[3467]

In fairness to China in that post I think all goods and contruction are not the quaility they used to be . I think the focus on price over quaility is a factor.
I must credit them with at least trying to build a moderatly prosperous country while lets just give up seems to be the US anymore
The NYT story mentioned teh lack of rural secondary roads pointing out its dirt paths and Tollways whereas we had and still have the US and state routes and many good rural routes.We have 4 million miles total I have no idea what Chinas is
China is focusing on depopulating the rural areas with more intensive agriculture in the north and a mix of factory  farmed and small farmed pork and other products. They want to turn the south which is mountainous back into forest
I suspect that they palns to save money on infrastructure.
CCTVs Dialogue is focusing on the strict new traffic laws-62,000 deaths a year -Average driver experience only 3 years
Lots of driver outrage over the yellow light rule Gov response What about the second chance for the victims

[Chris]

China has about 4.3 million kilometers of roads. Much of that is compressed in the eastern part though, western China is even more sparsely populated than western United States. The Tibetan Plateau on average, is higher than the highest peaks in Colorado or California.

Some Chinese expressways were built in areas that did not have any roads at all, especially in the central and south central parts of the country. In the high-altitude west, expressways seem to follow existing roads. In many cases, especially on the flatter plateau, expressways were built by conversing existing two-lane roads into 4-lane expressways, leaving no alternate route in some cases.

[Duke87]

China is in that sort of era where they have money but labor is still dirt cheap - so they build huge things because they can, and practical usefulness is not always a requirement.

The US is decidedly past such an era and thus our records are being broken by more up and coming nations without us even considering trying to hold onto them or take them back.

[vdeane]

China also has to keep building - they have to have at least 10% economic growth each year just to keep unemployment from increasing.  People keep talking about China as the next superpower, but the truth is, their economy is just waiting for the inevitable collapse (which will likely see a return to isolationism).

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Here is a list of all Chinese national expressways and their status as of today:
G1 Beijing-Harbin: Complete.
G2 Beijing-Shanghai: Missing Beijing Daxing-Tianjin Xiqing (Except for 5 miles near Yongqing) and Cangzhou-Jinan.
G3 Beijing-Fuzhou(-Taibei): Missing Nanping-Fuzhou (Meanwhile is cosigned with G70). Another thing is the Taiwan strait link (Unlikely) and the Taiwan issue...
G4 Beijing-Hong Kong: Complete (I consider Hong Kong route 9 from Lok Ma Chau to Fo Tan and the entire route 1 part of G4).
*G4W Guangzhou-Macau: Missing bridge to Macau.
G5 Beijing-Kunming: Missing Beijing Fangshan-Laishui and Luquan-Kunming. And if I read correctly what they have posted, then Pingshan-Yuxian and Taiyuan Eastern outer bypass are also missing and is no longer concurrent with G20.
G6 Beijing-Lhasa: Missing Huangyuan-Hainan, Chaka-Ulan and Golmud-Lhasa.
G7 Beijing-Urumqi: Missing Beijing-Yangqing (Except for a couple sections north of 5th ringroad and around Changping), Xuanhua-Baotou and Bayannur-Hami (Through absolutely nothing). Baotou-Bayannur uses G6 and Hami-Urumqi uses G30.
G10 Suifenhe-Manzhouli: Missing Boketu-Manzhouli.
*G1011 Harbin-Tongjiang: Complete.
G11 Hegang-Dalian: Missing Jiamusi Western bypass and Heilongjiang border-Tonghua
*G1111 Hegang-Harbin: Missing Hegang-Yichung
*G1112 Ji'an-Shuangliao: All missing except for Meihekou-Dongfeng.
*G1113 Dandong-Fuxin: Missing Xinmin-Fuxin
G12 Hunchun-Ulanhot: Complete
*G1211 Jilin-Heihe: Missing Jilin-Heilongjiang border, Wuchang bypass and Niujia-Harbin-Bei'an.
*G1212 Shenyang-Jilin: Complete
G15 Shenyang-Haikou: Missing the two overwater links: Lvshunkou-Penglai (Bohai link)-Qixia and Xuwen-Haikou (Qiongzhou link, along with G75)
*G15W Changshu-Taizhou: Missing Jiaxing-Shanyou (2nd Hangzhou bay bridge)
*G1511 Rizhao-Lankao: Complete.
*G1512 Ningbo-Jinhua: Complete.
*G1513 Wenzhou-Lishui: Complete.
*G1514 Ningde-Shangrao: Complete.
G16 Dandong-Xilinhot: Missing Bairin leftbanner-Xilinhot.
G18 Rongcheng-Wuhai: Missing Rongcheng-Weihai, Baoding-Shanxi border (Except for a couple miles aroun Laiyuan), Shuozhou-Junggar and Qinpangjin-Weihai.
*G1811 Cangzhou-Shijiazhuang: Complete.
G20 Qingdao-Yinchuan: Complete.
*G2011 Qingdao-Xinhe: Complete.
*G2012 Dingbian-Wuwei: Missing Jingtai-Wuwei.
G22 Qingdao-Lanzhou: Missing Laiwu-Liaocheng, Changzhi-Linfen, Shaanxi border-Qingyang and Jingwuan-Gansu border. G22 goes across the Jiaozhou bay bridge rather than around the bay, as misslabelled by Google.
G25 Changchun-Shenzhen: Missing Changchun-Shuangliao, Inner Mongolia border-Kangping, Binzhou-Dongying, Qingzhou-Jiangsu border (Opening soon), Tonglu-Wucheng and Longquan-Fujian border.
*G2511 Xinmin-Lubei (i.e. Jarud banner): Missing Liaoning border-Jarud banner.
*G2512 Fuxin-Jinzhou: Complete.
*G2513 Huai'an-Xuzhou: Complete.
G30 Lianyungang-Reallyfaraway Khorgas: Missing Tianzhu-Gulang (Its Western end is closer to Europe than to Beijing).
*G3011 Liuyuan-Golmud: Missing Liuyuan-Aksai.
*G3012 Turfan-Hotan: Missing Aksu-Kashgar and Kargilik-Hotan.
*G3013 Kashgar-Irkhestam: All missing.
*G3014 Kuytun-Altay: Missing Karamay-Altay.
*G3015 Kuytun-Tacheng: Missing Karamay-Tacheng. Kuytun-Karamay common to both G3014 and G3015.
*G3016 Qingsuihe-Yining (i.e. Ili): Complete.
G35 Jinan-Guangzhou: Missing Qianshan-Dongzhi and Jiangxi border-Meizhou (I like its number )
G36 Nanjing-Luoyang: Complete.
G40 Shanghai-Xi'an: Complete.
*G4011 Yangzhou-Liyang: Complete.
G42 Shanghai-Chengdu: Missing Wuduhe-Chongqing border. Longquan-Yichang, S63, is misslabelled by Google as G42.
*G4211 Nanjing-Wuhu: Complete.
*G4212 Hefei-Anqing: Complete.
G45 Daqing-Guangzhou: Missing Chifeng-Chengde and Jiangxi border-Conghua.
*G4511 Longnan-Heyang: Complete.
G50 Shanghai-Chengdu: Complete (Includes the Siduhe bridge and its 1,400 feet clearance).
*G5011 Wuhu-Hefei: Complete.
G55 Erenhot-Guangzhou: Missing Erenhot-Sonid leftbanner, Hubei border-Shaoyang and Hunan border-Huaiji.
*G5511 Jining (i.e. Ulanqab)-Arun banner: All missing.
*G5512 Jincheng-Xinxiang: Complete.
*G5513 Changsha-Zhangjiaje: Complete.
G56 Hangzhou-Ruili: Missing Hubei border-Changde, Xiangxi-Zunyi, Bijie-Qujing and Longling-Ruili.
*G5611 Dali-Lijiang: All missing.
G60 Shanghai-Kunming: Complete.
G65 Baotou-Maoming: Missing Huaihua-Guilin and Cenxi-Maoming.
*G65W Yan'an-Xi'an: Missing Yan'an-Tongchuan.
G70 Fuzhou-Yinchuan: Complete.
*G7011 Shitian-Tianshui: Missing Shitian-Shaanxi border and Lueyang-Tianshui.
G72 Quanzhou-Nanning: Missing Jiangxi border-Chaling (Google misslabels Chaling-Yanling as G72) and Xing'an-Guilin.
*G7211 Nanning-Youyiguan (Literally "Friendship pass"): Complete.
G75 Lanzhou-Haikou: Missing Lanzhou Southern belt, Lintao-Sichuan border, Hechi-Du'an and Xuwen-Haikou (Qiongzhou link, along with G15).
*G7511 Qingzhou-Dongxing: Missing Fangchenggang-Dongxing.
G76 Xiamen-Chengdu: Missing Hunan border-Guizhou border (i.e. the Guangxi section) and Guiyang-Sichuan border.
G78 Shantou-Kunming: Missing Meizhou-Guangxi border, Pingle-Liuzhou, Hechi-Baise and Guizhou border-Shilin (Except for some miles near Luliang). Google misslabels Luliang-Qujing as G78.
G80 Guangzhou-Kunming: Complete.
*G8011 Kaiyuan-Hekou: Missing Kaiyuan-Honghe.
G85 Chongqing-Kunming: Complete.
*G8511 Kunming-Mohan: Missing Xishuangbanna-Mohan.
G91 Liaozhou ring: Missing Benxi-Tieling.
G92 Hangzhou bay ring: Complete.
*G9211 Ningbo-Zhoushan: Complete.
G93 Chengyu ring: Missing Luzhou-Chongqing border. No longer concurrent with G5.
G94 Pearl river delta ring: Missing Zengcheng-Sihui and Zhongshan-Macau-Hong Kong (Zhuhai-Macau-Hong Kong bridge). I consider Hong Kong route 8 from HK airport to Tsing Yi, route 3 to Kam Tin and route 9 to Lok Ma Chau part of G94.
*G9411 Dongguan-Foshan: Complete.
G98 Haikou ring: Complete.
(G99 Taiwan ring: See Taiwan issue. If Taiwan expressways 1 and 5 are part of G99, then Donggang-Yilan is missing).