Transport in Beijing
With the growth of the city following economic reforms, Beijing has evolved as the most important transport hub in the People's Republic of China, and within the larger East Asian region. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine expressways and city express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes, and an international airport.
The Beijing Railway Station,[Transport in Beijing] Beijing Railways
Beijing has long been the largest railway hub in China. There are railway lines from Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kowloon, Harbin, Qinhuangdao, Baotou, Yuanping, Chengde, and Tianjin. As of 2010 July 1, Beijing Railway Station has 173 trains stopping daily, while Beijing West Railway Station has 232 trains, Beijing South has 163 trains, Beijing North has 22. The state-of-the-art Beijing South Railway Station re-opened in August 2008, and serves as the Beijing terminus for the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed train, one of the fastest regular passenger train service in the world, as well as all other high-speed CRH trains. International trains to cities in Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam and North Korea, all run through Beijing.
Several other railway stations in urban Beijing handle regular passenger traffic: Beijing East and Qinghuayuan. Fengtai stations had been closed for renovation. There are also a number of other stations serving suburban areas. Passenger trains in China are numbered according to their direction in relation to Beijing.
[Transport in Beijing] Beijing Roads and expressways
See: Ring Roads of Beijing, Expressways of Beijing and China National Highways of Beijing for more related information.
An air-conditioned articulated bus operating on Beijing Bus Rapid Transit Line 1Beijing is connected via road links from all parts of China as part of the National Trunk Road Network. Nine expressways of China connect with Beijing, as do eleven China National Highways. Due partly to its design as an ancient capital, roads in Beijing often are in one of the four compass directions.
Beijing's urban transport is dependent upon the five "ring roads" (simplified Chinese: 环路) that successively surround the city, with the Forbidden City area marked as the geographical center for the ring roads. The ring roads appear more rectangular than ring-shaped. The 1st Ring road is not officially defined. The 2nd Ring Road is fully located in Beijing's inner city areas. Ring roads tend to resemble expressways progressively as they extend outwards, with the 5th Ring Road and 6th Ring Road being full-standard National expressways - linked to other roads only with interchanges. Expressways to other regions of China are generally accessible from the 3rd Ring Road outward.
One of the biggest concerns with traffic in Beijing involves its traffic jams. Even outside of rush hour, several roads still remain clogged up with traffic. Urban area ring roads and major thoroughfares, especially near Chang'an Avenue, are normally cited[citation needed] as high-congestion areas.
Exacerbating Beijing's traffic problems is its relatively underdeveloped mass transit system. Beijing's urban design layout further complicates the situation of the transport system.[108] The authorities have introduced several bus lanes where, during rush hour, all vehicles except for public buses must keep clear. In the beginning of 2010, Beijing had 4 million registered automobiles.[109] For the end of 2010, the government expects 5 million cars in Beijing. In 2010, new car registrations in Beijing averaged 15,500 per week.[110]
Towards the end of 2010, the city government of Beijing announced a series of drastic measures to tackle traffic jam, including limiting the number of new plates issued to passenger cars to 20,000 a month and barring cars of non-Beijing plates from entering areas within the Fifth Ring Road during rush hours. [111]
[Transport in Beijing] Beijing Air
Beijing Capital International Airport's new Terminal 3Beijing's primary airport is the Beijing Capital International Airport (IATA: PEK; near Shunyi), which is about 20 km northeast of city centre. With renovations for the 2008 Olympics, the airport now boasts three terminals, with Terminal 3 being one of the largest in the world. Most domestic and nearly all international flights arrive at and depart from Capital Airport. Capital Airport is the main hub for Air China and a hub for China Southern. The capital links Beijing with almost every other Chinese city with regular air passenger service. It is linked to central Beijing by the Airport Expressway and is a roughly 40-minute drive from the city centre during good traffic hours. Prior to the 2008 Olympics, another expressway, the 2nd Airport Expressway, was built to the Airport, as well as a light rail system, which is now connected to the Beijing Subway.
Other airports in the city include Liangxiang, Nanyuan, Xijiao, Shahe and Badaling. Nanyuan serves as the hub for only one passenger airline, and these airports are primarily for military use and less well-known to the public.
[Transport in Beijing] Beijing Public transit
Line 5 platform at Dongdan station, with platform screen doorsThe Beijing Subway opened in 1971, and had only two lines until the opening of Line 13 in 2002. Since then, the subway has expanded to fourteen lines. Line 1 and Batong Line, its eastern extension, crosses almost all of urban Beijing from east to west. Lines 4 and 5 serve as two north-south axial lines. Fare is 2 yuan flat with unlimited transfers except for the Airport Express line, which costs 25 yuan per trip. There are nearly 700 bus and trolleybus routes in Beijing, including three bus rapid transit routes.[112] All public transport can be accessed with the Yikatong card, which uses radio frequencies to be scanned at subway stations and on public transit buses. In May 2010, Beijing's municipal government announced plans to add 21 new subway lines by the year 2020. The plan calls for 30 subway lines and 450 stations in Beijing, reaching 1,050 kilometers in distance. When implemented, residents within the Fourth Ring Road will be able walk to a station in 10 to 15 minutes. The suburbs will be connected by new radial lines.[113]
Registered taxis can be found throughout Beijing, a large number of unregistered taxis also exist. As of 30 June 2008, all fares on legal taxis start at 10 Renminbi for the first 3 km and 2.00 Renminbi per additional kilometer, not counting idling fees. Most taxis are Hyundai Elantras, Hyundai Sonatas, Peugeot Citroëns and Volkswagen Jettas. After 15 km, the base fare is increased by 50% (but only applied to the portion of the distance over 15 km, so that the passenger is not retroactively charged extra for the first 15 km). Between 11 pm and 5 am, the fee is increased by 20%, starting at 11 RMB and increasing at a rate of 2.4 RMB per km. Rides over 15 km and between 11 pm and 6 am apply both charges, for a total increase of 80% (120%*150%=180%).
