Beijing was first connected to outside areas by the Jingshi Expressway in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now, many expressways connect Beijing with plans for future development.
Contents
History
When the Airport Expressway and the Jingjintang Expressway opened, Beijing was already gripped by 'expressway fever'. In the far eastern part of the town, the less popular Jingha Expressway existed until the construction of the Jingtong Expressway in the mid-1990s, which brought more recognition to the Jingha Expressway. However, it is still too far from central Beijing to be considered a key expressway.
By the People's Republic of China's 50th anniversary, more expressways were being built in Beijing. The Badaling Expressway, Jingshen Expressway, and in 2000, the Jingkai Expressway were constructed. Beijing then had eight expressways.
In 2001, the Jingcheng Expressway was built. The northeastern and southeastern parts were ready to accommodate two more expressways (the Jingping/Jingji and Northern Jingji Expressways, respectively).
In 2004, the municipal government publicly announced a plan to complete up to 890 km (550 mi) of expressways (277 km (172 mi) by 2006). By 2006, the 6th Ring Road would be completed, and in the same year, a major batch of expressways would also be finished.
Currently, there are a total of 15 main expressways around Beijing including the Jingping/Jingji, Northern Jingjin, Southern Jingjin, 2nd Airport Expressway, Northern Airport Expressway, Litian Expressway, and the nine existing expressways. Out of these, 11 radiate from the city centre of Beijing, as the majority of residents tend to live farther away from the city centre.
2005 plan
In early January 2005, mainland authorities revealed a plan for seven national expressways originating from Beijing. One of these included an expressway that led straight to Taiwan.
The expressways include:
Beijing - Shanghai (Jinghu Expressway)
Beijing - Taipei
Beijing - Kunming
Beijing - Hong Kong/Macau
Beijing - Lhasa
Beijing - Urumqi
Beijing - Harbin
After the 'Three Links' came into effect, the projected 85,000 km (53,000 mi) of mainland expressways will have a connection, possibly by tunnel, to Taiwan and all expressways on the island.