Transportation in Beijing

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Roads in Beijing

Beijing, as the capital and a municipality of the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a transportation hub, with a sophisticated network of roads, railways and a major airport. Four completed ring roads encircle a city with nine expressways heading out in virtually all compass directions, supplemented by eleven China National Highways.

Rail

Beijing West Railway Station

Beijing has two major railway stations: Beijing Railway Station (or the central station) and Beijing West Railway Station.

Six other railway stations in Metropolitan Beijing handle regular passenger traffic: Beijing East, Beijing North, Beijing South, Fengtai, Guanganmen, and Xinghuo.

Hepingli Railway Station seems to have been completely abandoned and is apparently no longer in service.

Railways

• Jingguang Railway, to Guangzhou, Guangdong
• Jinghu Railway, to Shanghai
• Jingha Railway, to Harbin, Heilongjiang
• Jingbao Railway, to Baotou, Inner Mongolia
• Jingyuan Railway, to Taiyuan, Shanxi
• Jingcheng Railway, to Chengde, Hebei
• Jingqin Railway, to Qinhuangdao, Hebei
• Jingjiu Railway, to Kowloon, Hong Kong
  (Note: Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. To cross the internal border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, passengers have to go through immigration and customs checks.)

• to cities in Russia
• to cities in Mongolia
• to Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK)

Beijing Subway

Main Article: Beijing Subway

Roads

The Badaling Expressway near the intersection with the Northern 6th Ring Road (taken in November of 2002)

One of Beijing's biggest traffic concerns is its ubiquitous traffic jams. Traffic in the city centre is often gridlocked, with rush hour lasting 11 hours a day as of 2006, and smooth traffic only available at night. Topping out areas with frequent traffic jams are the eastern and western 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads, the northern 4th Ring Road, Shangqing Bridge, Jianguo Road, and Xidaokou.

The authorities have attempted several moves to unblock traffic-- with limited success. The police are also in a mood to fine traffic violators. Actual enforcement, however, is spotty. With car ownership soaring, and the authorities not willing to copy Shanghai's method of auctioning licence plates to limit road traffic or slapping extra costs, the traffic situation looks serious. With Beijing's relatively large population of Communist Party-connected "VIPs", limited private ownership would prove vastly unpopular. It is ironic that, while the 7th Ring Road is in planning, central Beijing remains a virtual car park during rush hour. Critics point out that Beijing's "ringing" and urban sprawl are major factors in clogged up city traffic. So far, no elevated highways (a la Shanghai or Hong Kong) have been built in Beijing.

Road construction has been maximised, with more new road projects being commenced than ever. Unfortunately, unlike 2003 (which witnessed the opening of the remaining 40% of the 5th Ring Road on time on November 1, 2003), 2004 proved to be a poor year in terms of the Beijing authorities holding their promises on new roads to be opened to general traffic. The Jingcheng Expressway (3rd Ring Road - 4th Ring Road) opened two days behind time (September 30 instead of September 28), and with access to the expressway only on the ring road section heading anticlockwise, and only bound for Chengde, being possible. Meanwhile, the southwestern 6th Ring Road was scheduled to be opened in November 2004, but has been delayed; an inspection of the ring road was concluded in late November, with success, but the road still remains closed as of mid-December 2004. Basic work for the Airport Expressway (2nd Ring Road - 3rd Ring Road) was boasted for completion by December 12, 2004; that, too, was a missed deadline.

One big problem is that public transportation is underdeveloped: the underground system is presently minimal and even buses are jam-packed with people around rush hour. Beijing authorities claim that traffic jams may be a thing of a past come the 2008 Olympics. This is highly doubtful, however, and most Beijing residents expect that the government will merely prohibit nearly all private automobile traffic during the Games. The authorities have introduced several bus lanes where, during rush hour, all vehicles except for public buses must keep clear of the special lanes. Once they are working successfully, however, a different problem emerges with congestion at bus stops -- within bus lanes. As there are no published schedules, order collapses.

Another problem is the driving situation itself. Respect for the law is only settling in slowly. As a result, Beijing drivers may still pull out to overtake in all directions, and some do not bother with the indicator lights. Traffic violations are rife, checked only by the police on duty. Overtaking on the right, a clear violation in nations where driving on the right side of the road is standard, is exerciced with alarming frequency -- even on expressways. Local drivers are inconceivably aggressive; a number of cases of over-irritated drivers resorting to physical violence (road rage) have been reported. Mainland China's rapid economic development also means that the majority of drivers have only recently learned and are unskilled. Driving on Beijing roads is dangerous, especially for beginners.

Roads in Beijing often are in one of the four compass directions (unlike, for example, Tianjin). Additionally, five ring roads (including one partially open), nine expressways, and numerous fast through routes and China National Highways all form an expansive traffic infrastructure around the capital.

Ring roads

The 2nd Ring Road at Chaoyangmen

Main article: Ring Roads of Beijing

• 2nd Ring Road
• 3rd Ring Road
• 4th Ring Road
• 5th Ring Road
• 6th Ring Road (partially open)

Expressways

The Jingtong Expressway

Main topic: Expressways of Beijing

• Badaling Expressway (Madian - Badaling Great Wall - Jingzhang Expressway, 70 km)
• Jingcheng Expressway (Taiyanggong - Gaoliying, 23 km)
• Airport Expressway (Sanyuanqiao - Beijing Capital International Airport, 19 km)
• Jingtong Expressway (Dawang Bridge - Tongzhou District, c. 15 km)
• Jingha Expressway (Beiguan Roundabout - Yanjiao, Hebei)
• Jingshen Expressway (Sifang Bridge - Shenyang, 658 km)
• Jingjintang Expressway (Fenzhongsi - Tianjin - Tanggu)
• Jingkai Expressway (Yuquanying - Yufa, c. 40 km)
• Jingshi Expressway (Liuliqiao - Shijiazhuang, c. 270 km)

China National Highways

Map of central Beijing (1988)

Main article: China National Highways of Beijing

• China National Highway 101 (Dongzhimen - Chengde - Shenyang)
• China National Highway 102 (Chaoyangmen - Harbin)
• China National Highway 103 (Fenzhongsi - Tianjin - Tanggu)
• China National Highway 104 (Yongdingmen - Fuzhou)
• China National Highway 105 (Yongdingmen - Zhuhai - Macao)
• China National Highway 106 (Yuquanying - Guangzhou)
• China National Highway 107 (Guang'anmen - Shenzhen)
• China National Highway 108 (Fuxingmen - Kunming)
• China National Highway 109 (Fuchengmen - Lhasa)
• China National Highway 110 (Deshengmen - Yinchuan)
• China National Highway 111 (Dongzhimen - Heilongjiang province)

Bus

Public buses in Beijing

There are hundreds of bus routes in the city. There are new, air-conditioned buses, and there are older buses. Bus fares start at CNY 1 per 10km on old buses, and 2 CNY per 10km on new buses.

Taxi

In 1999, the environmentally unsound "bread cars" (mianbao che, a.k.a miandi) were decommissioned in a stringent manner. They used to charge CNY 1 per kilometre. Although it was sound, budget-wise, their poor environmental record and an increasing consciousness of the image of the capital were the factors that landed them in the dumpster. As of 2004, 1.20 RMB/km taxicabs are being phased out, but as of 2006, they are still everywhere to be found. 1.20RMB taxis are not allowed to take you to the airport.

Air

Beijing's main airport is the Beijing Capital International Airport near Shunyi, which is about 20 kilometres northeast of Beijing proper. Flights from all major continents land in Beijing. This airport is also where a lot of domestic lines land.

Other airports in the city include Liangxiang Airport, Nanyuan Airport, Xijiao Airport and Badaling Airport. However, these are less well-known. [Domestic Flights to Beijing]

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