3-D Transportation

Private cars have changed lifestyles in Beijing. Never before have the people had so many opportunities and ways to explore the city and its surrounding areas. Along with growth in the private care market, Beijing’s transportation system, public and private, has been vastly improved, including urban and suburban road networks.

As of 2005, there were 114 kilometres of subway/light-rail lines operating in Beijing, up from 54 kilometres in 2000. Construction of the Olympic subway branch and Beijing Subway lines Nos. 4, 5, 9 and 10 has been launched. Construction of a light-rail express line from the Dongzhimen subway/light-rail station to Beijing Capital International Airport is under way. In total, 115 kilometres of rail-line additions are under construction. Beijing has also quickened its pace in building express highways, urban expressways, arterial roads, and urban road networks and connectors. At the end of 2005, the Fourth Ring and the Fifth Ring roads were operational, and the first phase of the Sixth Ring Road, the Beijing-Kaifeng Express Highway, the first-phase of the Beijing-Chengde Express Highway and Lianhua Xilu were operational. Eight satellite towns in Shunyi, Changping, Tongzhou, Daxing, Yanqing, Fangshan, Mentougou and Yizhuang have been linked with the downtown area with express transportation.

During the municipal government’s Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001–05), the municipality added 1,100 kilometres of new roads, increasing the total length of the city’s highway system to 14,700 kilometres. Construction of roads linking Beijing’s Olympic venues, a second phase of the Beijing-Chengde Express Highway, an intercity light-rail line linking Beijing and Tianjin and the second Beijing–Tianjin Express Highway have been begun. By the end of the five-year plan there were 230 kilometres of expressways opened to traffic within the city’s Third Ring Road, greatly improving movement within the city. Large-scale comprehensive transport hubs had been built in the Dongwuyuan and Liuliqiao areas making it easy for car drivers to transfer public transport systems.

The efficiency and passing capacity of Beijing’s urban road networks are being increased; the transport of goods and people within the city is greatly improved. The city has added to its expressways, linked some North-South roads within the urban area, upgraded some urban arterial roads, opened up some dead-end roads, and it has perfected the “microcirculation” system in the urban central area.