China now has the world's largest highway system, with more than 130,000 kilometers of roads, according to China's first ever highway operation big data analysis report jointly released recently by the research institute and the integrated traffic data application center with the Ministry of Transport.
The mileage of the highways is long enough to take you on a road trip around the globe more than three times. The highways contribute a lot to the development of the regional economy across the country.
China has greatly improved its road infrastructure since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China five years ago. The total length of China's network of expressways now exceeds 130000 kilometers, with 41000 kilometers added since the end of 2012.
The country now boasts the world's largest network of highways, which stretches 130,000 km and connects all regions above county level, with nearly all townships and administrative villages linked by roads.
The network of highways in Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Henan, Shandong and Hebei are placed the top ten in the country, according to the report.
Shanghai is placed the first with its network of highways reaching 1310 kilometers per square meter.
The pace of highway construction has been accelerated in recent years with the addition of 10000 kilometers of expressways each year since 2011. China registered merely 20000 kilometers of expressway between 1988 and 2001. 1988 saw the country’s first express highway opening to traffic.
The construction of freeways has contributed to the sustained growth of the regional economy, the report shows. Passenger coaches and trucks make up 77% and 23% of the vehicle flow in the national network of highways but the percentage for coaches reaches 80% for Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangdong, the provinces either densely populated or tourism-driven.
The percentage for trucks reaches nearly 40% in Shanxi and Ningxia which have heavy reliance on raw resources such as coal and gas for economic growth and Tainjin and Hebei which boost economic development through their port industries.
