Transport in China
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| Life in the People's Republic of China |
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Transport in the People's Republic of China comprises a vast network of transport nodes across its huge territory, although the nodes tend to concentrate in the more economically developed coastal areas and inland cities along major rivers.
The physical state and comprehensiveness of transport infrastructure tend to vary widely by geography. While remote, rural areas still largely dependent on non-mechanised means of transportation, the world's first commercial Maglev train system was built in China to connect the city centre of Shanghai, the commercial and financial centre of mainland China, with its international airport.
Much of contemporary China's transport systems have been built since the establishment of the PRC in 1949, and were remarkably improved throughout the 1990s. Prior to 1950, there were only 21,800 km of railway lines. The railway network has since been expanded to 78,000 km in 2007.
Rail travel remained the most popular form of transport, although air travel has also experienced significant growth since the late 1990s. The government-led effort to connect the country by roads via the National Trunk Highway System has expand the network to 45,400 km, making China's the second longest expressway network in the world.
Transportation in the mainland is overseen by the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Railways, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and respective organizations in the special administrative regions.
Main article: Rail transport in the People's Republic of China, Passenger rail transport in China and High-speed rail in China
See also: List of railways in China
Mainland China has the world's third largest rail network, the total track length being at 76,000 km. As of 2007, of these 76,000km, only 6003km are suitable and approved for high speed rail. The high speed service is mainly operated by China Railway High-Speed. China also has the worlds only commercial maglev trainservice. The Transrapid-based line, that runs from Shanghai International Airport to Shanghai city centre, was inaugurated in [[2002].
Qinghai-Tibet Railway
A 1,080-km (670-mile) section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been completed from Golmud to Lhasa. It includes the 3,345-meter Yangbajain No. 1 tunnel, which is 4,264 meters above sea level and located 80 km NW of the regional capital Lhasa. The 815-km section from Xining to Golmud in Qinghai opened to traffic in 1984.
The railway's highest point, the Tanggula Mountain Pass, is 5,072 meters above sea level. More than 960 kilometers, or over four-fifths of the railway, is at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, and over half of it was laid on frozen earth. Because of the high altitudes, carriages are supplied with supplemental oxygen.
Thirty railway stations were built, among them the Tanggula Mountain station, which at 4,500 m is one of the highest-altitude railway stations in the world (after Cóndor station, at 4,786 m, on the Rio Mulatos-Potosí line, Bolivia, and La Galera at 4,781 m in Peru).
Rail-laying in Tibet was launched in both directions, towards the Tanggula Mountains and Lhasa, at Anduo Railway Station on 22 June 2004. Since completion it is now possible to travel from Lhasa to Beijing in 48 hours. The railway will later be extended to Xigaze (to the west) and Linzhi (Nyingchi, to the east).
Lhasa to Xigaze Railway
Linking Lhasa to Xigaze cities in Tibet, the construction of a 254-km extension line of the Qinghai- Tibet railway will start in 2007 with completion expected by 2010. This railway, the first feeder line for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, will cost 11 billion yuan (1.42 billion U.S. dollars), said Dotub, a Tibetan legislator at a press conference held on the sidelines of the country's parliamentary session in Beijing.
Railway links with adjoining countries
- Afghanistan - no - no railways
- Bhutan - no - no railways yet
- Myanmar - no - break of gauge 1435mm/1000mm
- India - no - break of gauge 1435mm/1676mm - Himalaya Mountains
- Kazakhstan - yes - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm
- Kyrgyzstan - no
- Laos - no
- Mongolia - yes - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm
- Nepal - no - no railways
- North Korea - yes - same gauge 1435mm
- Pakistan - no - break of gauge 1435mm/1676mm - Himalaya Mountains
- Russia - yes - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm
- Tajikistan - no - break of gauge 1435mm/1524mm
- Vietnam - yes - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1000mm
some variable gauge axle trains in use to overcome break of gauge.
Links adjourning the special administrative regions
Maps
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There are a growing number of cities that have an underground or light rail system.
- Beijing Subway originally designed and built in the 1960s
- Changchun Light Railway
- Chongqing Metro - currently only one monorail line
- Guangzhou Metro
- MTR of Hong Kong
- Nanjing Metro ( Subway construction official site )
- Shanghai Metro designed and built in the 1990s
- Shenzhen Metro
- Tianjin Metro currently suspended for construction of additional lines
- Wuhan Metro
Metro systems under construction:
Roads and expressways
Roads:
Total: 1.92 million km
Paved: 1.55 million km (with 42,000 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 362,147 km
Mainland China is linked by an evolving web of roads (China National Highways) and expressways. China National Highways stretch to all four corners of mainland China (Xinjiang, Tibet, Heilongjiang and the south and southeastern Chinese coast). Expressways reach the same destinations as China National Highways, except for the rugged terrain of Tibet. An expressway link is already on the drawing board.
Air
In 2005 China has an estimated 506 airports.[citation needed] Of China's large airports, Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has the greatest flow of passengers annually, surpassing Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) in 2005. Shanghai has the highest amount of air traffic through its two airports, Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), with international traffic served surpassing that in Beijing[citation needed]. Other major airports include Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport,Guangzhou's New Baiyun International Airport (CAN), Qingdao Liuting International Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport.
Air traffic within mainland China is often connected through Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. They are, respectively, the main hubs for Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
Passenger flights to Taiwan and other places under administration of the Republic of China (ROC) must follow special rules.
Airports - with paved runways
Total: 389
Over 3,047 m: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 120
1,524 to 2,437 m: 139
914 to 1,523 m: 23
Under 914 m: 53 (2005 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
Total: 117
Over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 29
Under 914 m: 36 (2005 est.)
The largest airlines in China are China Southern Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Air China owns 17.5% of Cathay Pacific (second largest shareholder) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), an administrative agency of the State Council, owns majority and controlling stakes in China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Air China . Other major airlines include Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.
The total number of planes of all mainland Chinese carriers combined will be near 1,580 by 2010, up from 863 in 2006. By 2025, the figure is estimated to be 4,000.[1]
The twenty seven airlines in the Chinese mainland handled 138 million passengers, and 22.17 million tons of cargo in 2005.[1]
Other
110,000 km navigable (1999)
Navigable waterways include: Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), Grand Canal of China, Huangpu river, Lijiang River, Xi Jiang
Crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)
The major pipeline is the West-East Gas Pipeline from Xinjiang to eastern China. The government hopes that the use of natural gas will assist to reduce the use of coal which is responsible for much air pollution.
Ports and harbours
Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Suzhou, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang
Merchant marine
Total: 1,746 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,637,023 GRT/24,552,567 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 325, cargo 840, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 125, liquified gas 20, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 251, refrigerated cargo 24, roll-on/roll-off 21, short-sea passenger 43, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1 (1999 est.)
