Jiangsu
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057068.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057111.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057196.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057209.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057257.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057442.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057450.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057478.jpg

Cont.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057497.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67057508.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67624018.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67624030.jpg
Zhejiang
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67625083.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67625110.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675837.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675861.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675886.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675889.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675912.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675925.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675931.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675945.jpg

Jiangsu
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675972.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675975.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67675997.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67676002.jpg

Guangdong
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67916718.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/66925004.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64932561.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64932299.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64889572.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64407550.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59414117.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59414093.jpg

Guangdong
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59414064.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59267777.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59164653.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59161634.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59161520.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55143870.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59161451.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59160718.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59148959.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59148944.jpg

Cont.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59148936.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59148697.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146566.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146288.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146181.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146125.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146083.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146069.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59146055.jpg

^^ Thanks NF. A comprehensive collection of Chinese highways and signs indeed.

Guangxi
S6501
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58641167.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58641012.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58569764.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58568257.jpg
G78-G55-G323-G207
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58568173.jpg
G1501-G15 Vers G4-G45-G80
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58540179.jpg
http://v2.cache3.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/58540179.jpg?redirect_counter=2
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58540118.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58540074.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58539877.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58539812.jpg

^^ no problem big-dog
the cool thing is that how the signs differ from one province to the other.

^^it's because they are non-standardized, but it's a lot better than before. China didn't have numbers for expressways until a few years ago and now they are on all road signs, so things change fast.

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59161520.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55143870.jpg
What's the meaning of these two signs?

By the way, where you speak of differences between the provinces, they are clearly out there, but I'd say that the differences are relatively minor. This is not India, Canada or Belgium where each province goes its own way. The most visible difference is in the use of Roman characters, where it appears that not every province is yet complying with the new standard of bilingual signage.

Otherwise, the differences seem comparable to differences that you see between German and Australian states.

The top sign is saying what 3 concurrent routes the road is, and the bottom sign is similarly stating the name of the route.

^^ yeh i am talking about style
some have those arrows some have a big wide sign and some have 3 smaller signs.

Cont.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58539752.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58539629.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58537378.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58535670.jpg

cont.
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69618565.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69618638.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69618728.jpg
Vers S81
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55581674.jpg
S15
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55581561.jpg
Vers S4-S81
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55581384.jpg
htthttp://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55284883.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/50581117.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69621995.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/57837343.jpg

cont
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69622110.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55262918.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55262594.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55262508.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69622144.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55262092.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69622144.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54700973.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54652275.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54652172.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54515249.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54515178.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54064718.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54064687.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/54059777.jpg

cont.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/51795567.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/49409060.jpg
G45 vers G4
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/49408085.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/43444941.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/43444804.jpg

Uyghurstan (Xinjiang Uyghur AR)
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/19072714.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/40175914.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/40175937.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69624142.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/40275452.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/23160968.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/51871379.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14043843.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/11131849.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/57740060.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5204685.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5204676.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41269141.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/10511090.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/9417175.jpg

Xinjiang expressway looks good and special, especially the signboard.

WTF is the transcription to roman alphabet in Xinjiang?

^^ That's Uyghur, which uses Arabic characters. The two bilingual regions of China, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, have rules deviating from the standard used elsewhere in China. The other regions are to be signposted in Chinese characters and Latin characters; the bilingual regions are to be signposted in Chinese characters and the characters of the local second language.

^What about Tibet?

http://sports.sctv.cn/tppd/cj/201106/w020110628556544698585.jpg

That too.

But where is English? There should be tri-language signs in those regions.

cont.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/39369460.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/39028970.jpg
gaz
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/60284055.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/38977106.jpg
Uytagh
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/22904474.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/6551710.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/6551706.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/6552355.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/685083.jpg
Sugat Junc.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/63105129.jpg
http://www.globaltimes.cn/attachment/090724/ef7e72eabb.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/46112322.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15083127.jpg
Khotan-Gali Junc.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/57490997.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/57490959.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/58620958.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/1792268.jpg

I guess but the signs will get too crowded and hard to read.

Chinese roads need more/wider shoulders

But where is English? There should be tri-language signs in those regions.
From what I understand, it is not a requirement in those regions to also use English on the signs. Supposedly for the reason brought forward by Nima-Farid, namely to avoid overcrowded signs.

So you can't go to a anybody and say "that sign should be changed", you'd need to ask the powers that be to reconsider the present rules.

Chinese roads need more/wider shoulders
The vast majority of expressways and highways already have adequate shoulder, only in areas such as near on/off ramps or on bridges the shoulder is narrow or absent. Also Chinese highways observe a stay right except for pass rule so normally the shoulder is only on the right hand side.

From what I understand, it is not a requirement in those regions to also use English on the signs. Supposedly for the reason brought forward by Nima-Farid, namely to avoid overcrowded signs.

So you can't go to a anybody and say "that sign should be changed", you'd need to ask the powers that be to reconsider the present rules.
I agree, I can understand English translation on highways and in major cities, but in the remote area of Xinjiang or Tibet it's probably unnecessary, it's not like foreigners drive by themselves to there often.

Why is this road divided 2+3+2+3, with just a double line between lanes 2 and 3?

heavy loaded vehicles need to stay in the outer two lanes
double yellow line means you cannot cut through those lanes
when it is near the exit it will change to a line and a dotted line to let the cars in inner lanes change to outer lanes for exiting

Trilingual sign
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/69731459.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64154426.jpg

G30
shinhshingshia toll booth
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/6982550.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14380483.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/56157572.jpg
Koshoy
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/13830302.jpg
Qumul-Yendon route
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14380643.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14389284.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/13830943.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14389344.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/56155393.jpg

cont
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69735181.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69735290.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/56149820.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/68285878.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14921129.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14921383.jpg
West pichan toll
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14921497.jpg
pichan
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14921658.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69740857.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55448847.jpg

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/medium/69742264.jpg

http://p3.img.cctvpic.com/program/china24/20110125/images/1295919266126_1295919266126_r.jpg

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/dfpd/attachement/jpg/site1/20100816/0023ae606f170dd32d0d1a.jpg http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/dfpd/attachement/jpg/site1/20100816/0023ae606f170dd333802e.jpg

"traffic jam" in China...

oGPrvKVpZsU


"road rage" in China ...

D_H7-KbGv5g

G30 (Uyghurstan Autonomus Region)
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/3353800.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/60104659.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/4750069.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15488087.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15488068.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15488060.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/29404504.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55564531.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/36582192.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/57757169.jpg

G217 (Uyghurstan Autonomus Region)
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/61020274.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/63825879.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/67134036.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/66963154.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/66311157.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/7017558.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/65994813.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/65994827.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/65994940.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/65994936.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/65148249.jpg

Recently I've seen some mistakes in Google Maps. Around Qingzhou, Shandong; and near Huizhou, Guangdong; there are routes numbered Gxx, like national expressways, and Google got confused and put national expressways shields to they. Here is a list:
Near Qingzhou:
G03 Jingtai expressway
G33
G39
G40 Hushaan expressway
G76 Quannan expressway
G77
G78 Shankun expressway
G79
G80 Guangkun expressway
G81
G82

And near Huizhou:
G22 Qinglan expressway
G29
G33 (Again)
G35 Jiguang expressway (Even if the actual expressway lies to the Northwest)
G45 Daguang expressway
G54
G55 Erguang expressway
G68
G78 Shankun expressway (Again)
G88

G217
Quytun Shahr rayoni-Maytagh junc.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5474124.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5474216.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5474234.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41389850.jpg
Qushtulqay-Alvasti junc
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/9440596.jpg
Urgho
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15895664.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55301690.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/45717001.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/45717204.jpg
Borchin-Shazghat Junc.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/45716929.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64655668.jpg

cont.
Otbolagh
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/18408192.jpg
Altay route
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/45717457.jpg
borchin
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/64656086.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/18407981.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/18407927.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/56017211.jpg
Altay
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/53295435.jpg

http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/fcc1cc4cc37d0b730bf7ef70.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/dea9a3a2a2f844a79252ee72.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/45e4b6fc6a1636d99c514671.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/41f58a2223c6da7bd607427c.jpg

http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/28db1856611f983287352473.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/623d3789b0b7d9bef21f3679.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/92d8d8b3c90e589e34d3ca7a.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/235453a4162e7cfdc9efd070.jpg

http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/5cf2f18d37f2f442cafc7a78.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/76f213e94218eabfcc1b3e7c.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/61fcb92f6d2aadae9b250a7d.jpg
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/%CD%BD%C4%CF11/pic/item/48d04b93459ee01bd3135e73.jpg

I would like to ask what are the average construction times of a motorway sections. Let's say depending on the conditions... easy plain terrain, terrain with heaps and cities, mountainous terrain.

I think there must be now enourmous amount of machienery and heavy building systems for motorway constructions. These once invested, should last for some years before depreciated. With construction scale like the one in China, the construction companies should invest heavily in the machienery in the beggining years. Now and for the rest their costs should be mainly in the cheap labour and construction materials. This further driving the price of construction down.

Easy put, the economies of scale seems to be so huge in China that they should drive the prices very low and construction speed up. Are there some new breaktrhough techniuqes used in China in the construction? Some semi automated motorway construction, huge machines, lots of prefabricated work, etc...

I am not familiar with this field so therefore my "naive" questions but thanks for any information on this topic and pictures :).

You have to keep in mind China is a huge country with 1.3 billion inhabitants. Its current construction pace is not faster than the U.S. did in the 1960's and 1970's, on a per-capita basis.

Most expressways in China are constructed in 2.5 - 3 years, similar to Europe if full funding is available (i.e. not countries like Germany or Switzerland).

Ok, thanks for the answer. Thus no marvells?

But the technology is now bit further then in 1960. Things like gps, lasers, etc are a game changer I think. And the chinese are doing this in the same time with constructing the biggest HSR in the world and also huge network "ordinary"" 160 km/h train lines.


Things like this video impress me rather lot and begins me thinking about what is possible...

tosLBPg211s&feature=related

Will we there be once a machine swallowing the soil on one side and spitting out the asphallt on the othe :D (joking for sure, but we can get close to this, e.g giant excavaters with conveyers belts etc..., excavating the whole motorway continuosly from point A to point B etc.. or building the whole motorway on the piles going from A to B, I dont really know what is possible).

Next Saturday, April 28th, the last section of the G5 Jingkun Expressway in Sichuan province will open to traffic. This section is about 160 kilometers long and runs through mountainous terrain.

Very interesting is this tunnel/viaduct spiral to climb 250 meters.

http://i.imgur.com/3Y3rU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Lm3ad.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/FE7HP.jpg

this might be a stupid question, but is that steel structure the final load-bearing thingie?

Apparently it is. It's some sort of world-record bridge type, this is what Google Translate makes of it:

Yesterday, Iasi highway Ganhaizi Bridge officially completed, which is the world's longest steel pipe truss girder highway bridge, a major breakthrough for the research and construction of highway bridge construction, marking China's dangerous mountain.

source: http://zy.newssc.org/system/20120423/000190590.html

Regarding the steel pipe construction, are the pipes filled with concrete? I recall that construction method being used to build arch bridges in China, a technique that China invented.

G202-G1211
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/36518729.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/1920x1280/58439496.jpg

G5 Chengdu-Kunming
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41091468.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41563099.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41905618.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/66934083.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/48257965.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/66161433.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/44444406.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59536764.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59537880.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/59541525.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/32461047.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20856854.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20856783.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/37932433.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/25733527.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/29205813.jpg

4.28 Beijing-Kunming expressway project finished its Sichuan section, the most difficult part, which marks the completion of the majority part of the 2860km expressway.

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161080_274245.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161081_440436.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161082_971731.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161084_735249.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161085_189603.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161086_196479.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161087_624527.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161088_938244.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161083_955418.jpg

(sina.com)

3D animation of Jingkun Expressway:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzI4MzQzMjQ4.html

Great photos. Some of them with the older road next to the new highway summarizes the leap in infrastructure development happened in last decade. Crazy..

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161080_274245.jpg
(sina.com)
Is it really cheaper to build the whole road on pillars rather than "cutting" it into the mountainside?

Is it really cheaper to build the whole road on pillars rather than "cutting" it into the mountainside?

Perhaps no, but definitely more environment friendly then digging on the hillside.

Perhaps no, but definitely more environment friendly then digging on the hillside.
Well, the going there is so incredibly rugged that that was likely the most economical way to do that. Keep in mind that when the Chinese built a mainline railroad between Chengdu and Kunming in the 1960s and 1970s, an astonishing percentage of its routing had to be built either in tunnels or on viaduct bridging.

Mike

Notice that the Chinese highways are relatively levelled out (w/ the use of bridges and tunnels if required)

- likely less maintenance therefore less delays (economic/sustainability)
- better fuel efficiency for vehicles (sustainability...say U$2 per 100km for each vehicle)
- less mechanical stress on vehicles (sustainability ...)
- it does snow in these areas therfore less accidents/delays (good for economy & human health)
- less accidents/delays therefore better flow ( toll? ... therefore good for business profits,lol)

Is it really cheaper to build the whole road on pillars rather than "cutting" it into the mountainside?
Cutting half a mountain away is not cheap. Remember, those are not hills, but mountains comparable to European Alps or Italian Apenines. Cutting too much into mountains can lead to increased danger of unpredictable landslides of great magnitude.

Anyway, amazing motorway, hope to travel on it some day.

especially in an earthquake zone

Two major expressway openings today.

http://i.imgur.com/tNOh8.png

G93 is a regional ring road (Chengyu Ring Expressway) that will run for 1057 kilometers in Sichuan and Chonqing. Most of it is completed now, except for a southern section. It partially runs parallel to G5 Jingkun Expressway.

Another expressway opens today, which runs from Nejiang to Suining. I don't know the number, as a matter of fact I do not know any provincial number in Sichuan. Normally Chinese provincial expressway have the prefix "S".

^^^ Good question, according to news report the new highway runs directly from Neijinag to Suining passing through Anyue County, which is almost exactly the same route as the current S206. Maybe it'll just replace the old S206?

As far as I know expressways never have 3-digit road numbers. They're either 1, 2 or 4 digits. 3-digits seem to be reserved for regular roads.

As far as I know expressways never have 3-digit road numbers. They're either 1, 2 or 4 digits. 3-digits seem to be reserved for regular roads.

Yeah it seems to be true. but they can put a new number on the road like S20 or S26 or something. I ll try to find the number in chinese sites,

A 20 kilometer section of the G15 Shenhai Expressway opened to traffic May 15th, near Xiamen in Fujian province. This shortens the trip by 5 kilometers. It's a new alignment close to the existing G15 Expressway around Longhai. The new expressway has three bridges across a river delta.

It's visible on Google Earth:
http://i.imgur.com/MCXxa.jpg

it is a waste of money. they could build the expressway in this corridor in the same place.

20 Killed by an explosion which took place in a highway tunnel under construction in Yunnan province.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18130548

^ Terrorist or a result of negligence?

^^ Negligence.

Correction: it happens in Hunan not Yunna. It's part of 532km Yueyang-Rucheng expressway where most parts are built thru mountains and with bridges or tunnels.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60346000/gif/_60346503_china_hunan_0512.gif

so sad. i think only terrorist activities in China occur in XUAR

By one of our forum members and H&A participants:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7266561940_9aec08980b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/7266561940/)
IMG_1306 -1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/7266561940/) by jo.sau (http://www.flickr.com/people/johnas/), on Flickr

^^
LOL, you're quick, Chris :lol:

On the left (-ish) side of the picture you can see a stack junction. I'm not sure but I would not be surprised if this is the biggest stack urban junction in the world. It's located almost right in the center of Shanghai near People's Square...

This is how it looks from a pedestrian perspective (there is an elevated pedestrian walk which allows to see it from all sides)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/7266638718_3fdb8df528_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/7266638718/)
IMG_1134 -1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/7266638718/) by jo.sau (http://www.flickr.com/people/johnas/), on Flickr

Believe me or not but I saw an aged woman praying (or doing some other spiritual ritual) while facing the center of the junction from the nearby elevated pedestrian walk. :|

^^ every Shanghainese knows that particular dragon column is said to have some supernatual power guarding the city of Shanghai, i.e. without it all road projects in Shanghai will collapse or suffer bad luck.

So in order to make sure roads are ok one should pray to a dragon. Just in case. :D

Not just a dragon, but this particular dragon. Before this junction was built they invited a monk to check the area and he said there is a dragon beneath the site, so they built the pillar with dragon decor to pay respect.

lol chinese superstitions...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/7050611659_e52b8d4346_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/staffh/7050611659/)
kreuz (http://www.flickr.com/photos/staffh/7050611659/) by staffh (http://www.flickr.com/people/staffh/), on Flickr

I think next time I'll be in Shanghai I should dedicate my stay to road junctions. There are alot of those here and many look as if they were designed in accordance to the wildest dreams of some hardcore SSC H&A members. :D

I think the Highway and roads section should actually have two threads:
-China
-Rest of the World

This is rather OT; A few months ago, I've been looking at Soso Street View for Tibet, but when I tried looking at it again these days the icon for street view no longer shows up above the map. And when I go to the page specifically about the street view feature, I get this:

http://map.soso.com/jiejing/dontcry.png

Does anyone know what it says? There are some icons with mobile platforms on that page, is street view no longer supported on the PC? :ohno:

Yeah it says it's not available right now but will be back, meanwhile please use the mobile version.

LOL it was written in a comical way that my utterly boring translation can't fully convey.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/7050611659_e52b8d4346_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/staffh/7050611659/)
kreuz (http://www.flickr.com/photos/staffh/7050611659/) by staffh (http://www.flickr.com/people/staffh/), on Flickr

This is really a awesome photo, thanks for sharing. :cheers:

i wonder how much it costed

i wonder how much it costed

which one you are talking about? the column its self ?

Liu Guanghe Bridge in Guizhou Province
http://upload.yxgz.cn/uploadfile/2011/0510/20110510102848856.jpg

Chinese National Highway G219
Altitude: 5248m
http://image.xcar.com.cn/attachments/a/day_110110/20110110_7f38e7f6a26dbe3b632d6g0PC73x489A.jpg

Chinese Highway to Mount Everest
Five 8000m+ mountains in this picture
http://image.xcar.com.cn/attachments/a/day_110105/20110105_5b0089ee0725bdf7f745LwZbbYK1t9YD.jpg

which one you are talking about? the column its self ?
not just the column, the whole system, and the interchange

July 12, 2012

The new, 23-kilometer Taiyuan - Gujiao Expressway opened to traffic in Shanxi, China. It includes the 13.6 kilometer, twin-tube Xishan Tunnel.

Wow, that expressway is underground for more than half of its route! :nuts:

Liu Guanghe Bridge in Guizhou Province
http://upload.yxgz.cn/uploadfile/2011/0510/20110510102848856.jpg

it looks so unreal :nuts:

^^

yeah, I though it is a visualisation as well :D

New expressway somewhere in Sichuan province.

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091521395737.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091536931952.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091548923201.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091614679113.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091630456845.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091642983208.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091655619565.jpg

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091707413128.jpg

Source: http://bbs.wforum.com/wmf/bbsviewer.php?trd_id=180079

That is G5 Jingkun Expressway.

erm, isn't that guard rail in the last pic a 'little' cheap?!?

otherwise UNREAL :o

That is G5 Jingkun Expressway.

The one that has two loops in Simian county :nuts:. The G30 Lianhuo Expressway has one too, in the Guozigou valley near its Western terminus (Which I believe is closer to Moscow than to Beijing).

Edit: No, is closer to Beijing... but only by 300 km.

New expressway somewhere in Sichuan province.

Source: http://bbs.wforum.com/wmf/bbsviewer.php?trd_id=180079

There is no car on this expressway:D

^^ Not yet.

http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091614679113.jpg

For real??

For real??

Yup! Look here: http://goo.gl/maps/3nIc. I have to make a map showing the Guozigou thing...

what a nice countryside. Highway doesn't look good in there :(

It seems that there is a steep descent form 2600 m.a.s.l. to 1200 m.a.s.l. on only 30 kms. Anyway, it's a pretty challenging engineering achievment, I know only one "comparable" example in central europe and that's a railway tunnel near Telgárt, Slovakia, also making such loop.

:)

QXdGAfHhT3w

Why not? Tell me more effective way for a motorway to get few 100 meters of extra altitude in just fem kilometers.

By the way, isn't China more like CHN (http://www.news.mot.go.th/iba_website/fileupload/Annex2_Registration%20of%20Vehicles%20in%20International%20Traffic.pdf)?

what a nice countryside. Highway doesn't look good in there :(

There are plenty of nice landscapes in those provinces, without highways it'd be hard to reach them.

There are plenty of nice landscapes in those provinces, without highways it'd be hard to reach them.

Yes, I agree. It is a big engineering challenge indeed. Massive structure. Just the hill looked before the highway better :)

14 August, 2012

A new 121 kilometer section of G40 Hushan Expressway opened in Shaanxi today, between Xian and Shangluo. It runs parallel to the old G40 which is partially multiplexed with the G70. The western part of G40, between Xian and Lantian, has 2x4 lanes. The eastern part through the mountains has an unknown number of lanes. At the same time a 13 kilometer provincial expressway branch to Luonan opened to traffic as well.

In Google Earth one can see the new G40 U/C and the old G40 (Which remains as G70) for a few kilometers Southeast of Xi'an.

Anyway, I'm awaiting for an update now, they haven't updated roads for a year :bash:.

It's also visible north of Shangluo, including a pretty long tunnel and the interchange with the provincial expressway. However, the middle sections in the mountains is not visible on imagery. It more or less runs parallel to the railway.

City highway in Guiyang, look at the buildings underneath

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_188105_678677.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_188104_880793.jpg

sina.com

unreal, are they planning to offer some compensation / demolish / move??

I suppose not. Actually living underneath is less noisy than living next to it, but it depends on the kind of dilatation joints.

what if the bridge collapses? I saw a bridge collapse somewhere else in China recently.

what if the bridge collapses? I saw a bridge collapse somewhere else in China recently.

What if your house collapses? I saw some houses collapsing somewhere recently. ;)

What if your house collapses? I saw some houses collapsing somewhere recently. ;)

His house is his house, he chose to build it/buy it there, but I'd reckon that not a lot of those people chose to have a bridge be built above their houses. And this in a country known for the dodgy standards and quality of its construction.

Those are not comparable things.

His house is his house, he chose to build it/buy it there, but I'd reckon that not a lot of those people chose to have a bridge be built above their houses. And this in a country known for the dodgy standards and quality of its construction.

Those are not comparable things.

Is there any empirical evidence showing % of 'poor' constructions in China in comparison with other countries? Any studies with concrete numbers? Other than that it's just rumors.

And what about that airport that has been built not too far from my house? What if an airplane charshes into my house?

I guess we're getting the point here. :)

When's the last time you've heard of a new bridge collapsing in, say, Germany? Compare that with new bridges collapsing in China, and you'll see what we're saying.

When's the last time you've heard of a new bridge collapsing in, say, Germany? Compare that with new bridges collapsing in China, and you'll see what we're saying.

What is the amount of new bridges built in Germany and China? What is the ratio? 1:300? 1:500? Something along those lines I guess.

Newly-built bridges simply do not collapse in countries like Germany or France or Canada or Japan or... due to high construction standards, but also better technical oversight/inspection.

Both of which are woefully lacking in China, past or present.

The main problem is they transport coal, sand and gravel in trucks that are over 20 meters long, and if loaded to capacity (what usually happens) they can weigh over 100 tonnes. The recently collapsed bridge in Harbin had three such trucks on the collapsed segment. Which means these trucks have weighed close to 300 - 350 tonnes combined, on a single segment. This is the same as 300 -350 passenger cars.

Furthermore, these trucks may not have been the only factor, if there is sustained usage of overweight trucks on bridges like these, they can wear out very fast, and will collapse at some point. In other words, with sustained overweight usage, these bridges age tremendously fast until the point they collapse even if they were designed to handle higher loads.

If I understand correctly this bridge serves a new development of Harbin with large-scale construction, and that is likely where the sand/gravel trucks came from.

Newly-built bridges simply do not collapse in countries like Germany or France or Canada or Japan or... due to high construction standards, but also better technical oversight/inspection.

Both of which are woefully lacking in China, past or present.

What's the last time you see trucks that's 300-400% overload drive onto bridges clearly not designed for that kind of load?

What's the last time you see trucks that's 300-400% overload drive onto bridges clearly not designed for that kind of load?

Even the Chinese themselves are questioning the quality of construction and the frequency of bridges collapsing.

Collapsed bridges have become worryingly frequent in China. Earlier this month, a bridge collapsed in Guangchang county in Jiangxi Province, killing two and injuring two. Another incident this month in Dalian, Liaoning Province killed six, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"As China experienced a decade of fast-speed construction, it has entered a dangerous period since corruption in public infrastructure projects is becoming an open secret," Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7923774.html

If you load a truck with an 18 * 2.5 * 3 = 135 m³ capacity with sand, the load alone weighs approximately 200 tons. Add the weight of the truck to it (approximately 15 tons) and you have a truck weighing 215 tons.

The regular limit in Europe is mostly 40 tons, while most bridges are capable of up to 60 - 70 tons per truck if it's not sustained usage of trucks with such weight. (chiefly exceptional transports)

If you load a truck with an 18 * 2.5 * 3 = 135 m³ capacity with sand, the load alone weighs approximately 200 tons. Add the weight of the truck to it (approximately 15 tons) and you have a truck weighing 215 tons.

The regular limit in Europe is mostly 40 tons, while most bridges are capable of up to 60 - 70 tons per truck if it's not sustained usage of trucks with such weight. (chiefly exceptional transports)
Then there is another problem. Lack of signage regarding weight limitation and the enforcement of such regulations.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Zeichen_262.svg/120px-Zeichen_262.svg.pnghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Zeichen_263.svg/120px-Zeichen_263.svg.pnghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Zeichen_266.svg/120px-Zeichen_266.svg.png

Newly-built bridges simply do not collapse in countries like Germany or France or Canada or Japan or... due to high construction standards, but also better technical oversight/inspection.

Both of which are woefully lacking in China, past or present.

Quality takes time, when a country is industrializing they don't have the money and time to make the quality top notch. When South Korea was industrializing, it too had some incidents, so China is not so different when considering its size too.

In 1994 in Seoul, South Korea, a big bridge collapsed, due to weak construtction.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxap4y0S1as/St6T8JbJDgI/AAAAAAAAFUw/yiyYuOFpM_A/s400/0%2Bseongsu%2Bbridge%2B5.jpg

In 1995 in the same city, a whole department store collapsed also due to weak construtction.

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~dwebb1/Sampoong.jpg

Even the Chinese themselves are questioning the quality of construction and the frequency of bridges collapsing.



http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7923774.html

At the same time they also acknowledged that illegally overloaded trucks is a major contributing factor the bridge collapse. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-07/29/content_13006216.htm
Having seen some of those trucks I'm surprised this few bridges collapse every year. There are always clear signage posted on bridges but illegally overloaded trucks always choose to ignore them.

A couple of Chinese expressways opened in the past week.

* G22 Qinglan Expressway: opened from G5 to the Shaanxi border in Shanxi on August 23. 99 kilometers
* a provincial expressway (name/number unknown) opened in middle Shanxi from Yushe to Zuoquan on August 28. 41 kilometers.
* a provincial expressway (name/number unknown) opened in southern Shanxi from Zezhou to Lingchuan on August 28. 31 kilometers.

Note that Shanxi and Shaanxi are two separate subdivisions of China.

The second one is the S45 Tianli expressway. I know because the section North of the recently opened one (From G5/G20 to Yu county) is in Google Maps. I believe ultimately it will run from G7 near Tianzhen (On the very short section G7 will have in Shanxi) to G18 in Licheng. The other "unknown" one is also unknown to me.

And both 山西 and 陕西 are transliterated to Shanxi. But the second one has to be longer due to the tone, so is translated to Shaanxi.

Edit: Scrap this, I though the second expressway ran from Yangquan instead of Yushe. It has to be a Sxy, where y is an even number.

http://acidcow.com/pics/36530-chinese-construction-fails-49-pics.html

China Approves Plan to Build New Roads to Boost Economy
Bloomberg
Sep 7, 2012 12:00 AM GMT+0800

China approved plans to build 2,018 kilometers (1,254 miles) of roads, its second major construction project announced this week, as the government boosts spending on infrastructure to help revive economic growth.

The projects include highways in Zhejiang and Xinjiang provinces, according to statements on the National Development & Reform Commission’s website. The approvals were given during June-August period. The agency also cleared plans for nine sewage treatment, two waterway and five port and warehouse projects, without disclosing the required investments.

The announcements came a day after the NDRC, the country’s top economic planner, backed plans for subway projects in 18 cities and after an increase in the rail-construction budget as the government tackles growth that has eased to the slowest pace in three years. The move will help accelerate infrastructure investment growth to more than 20 percent year-on-year from 15 percent, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

“Beijing policy makers are stepping up efforts to speed infrastructure investment to hold up growth,” Qu Hongbin and Sun Junwei, economists at HSBC, said in a note yesterday. “We expect a fast filtering-through process to generate a modest growth recovery in the coming months.”

The approvals on Sept. 5 for a total of 25 new subway and inter-city rail projects are worth more than 800 billion yuan ($126 billion), or 1.7 percent of 2011 gross domestic product, they said. The spending will run from the second half of the year to 2018.

Shares Surge

Shares of rail builders and trainmakers surged yesterday after the rail announcement. CSR Corp Ltd. (601766), China’s biggest trainmaker by market value, surged 8.8 percent, the most in almost nine months, to close at HK$5.20 in Hong Kong trading. China Railway Group Ltd. (601390) and China Railway Construction Corp, the nation’s two biggest rail and metro line builders, both jumped more than 6 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent.

“We believe most of the projects were already in local governments’ plans and the approvals may accelerate the development,” said Citigroup Inc. analysts Jenny Zhen and Paul Gong in a note to clients yesterday. “This sentiment is positive for the whole railway construction and equipment sector.”

Among the approvals, Shanghai got the go-ahead for an expansion of previously approved metro line projects. About 16.8 billion yuan of new spending, including a 4.4 billion-yuan line extension to the planned Disney theme park, was added to an existing plan.

The Chinese government also recently boosted plans for 2012 spending on railway construction to 496 billion yuan, according to China Railway Group. It is at least the third increase since the start of July when Premier Wen Jiabao said promoting investment growth is key to stabilizing economic expansion.

China Economy

China’s economy, the world’s second-biggest, expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace in three years. Manufacturing slowed in August, according to surveys of purchasing managers, with one gauge at the lowest level since March 2009.

Premier Wen has pledged policy “fine tuning” to cope with a deepening slowdown as export gains slump to an annual 1 percent pace in July from 11 percent in June. The deterioration in trade escalated the risk that Wen will miss his full-year economic expansion target for the first time since he took office in 2003.

“It seems to reflect that the economic data in the second half won’t be great,” said Vivian Liu, a Shanghai-based analyst with Sinopac Securities Asia Ltd. “The government has to rely on increased fixed asset investment to help economic growth.”

http://acidcow.com/pics/20546-bridge-collapse-traps-truck-11-pics.html

http://acidcow.com/pics/28654-egg-truck-crash-in-china-5-pics.html

http://acidcow.com/pics/13191-spectacular-crash-in-china-6-pics.html

September 3, 2012

An unknown expressway (possibly G6 Jingzang Expressway) opened in Qinghai on September 3, 2012. It's 166 kilometers long and runs from the G315/S207 intersection to Delingha (Delhi). It's located at 2.900 - 3.300 meters altitude.

I've read they were studying two possible routes for G6 between Huanyang (West of Xining) to Golmud. They were G109 and the Qingzang railway, so probably they chose the later one and shortened G3011, Liuge expressway, to the G215/G315 cross.

September 10, 2012

An unknown expressway opened today in Sichuan province, from Chengdu to Zigong. It parallels G76 & G93. It's also 166 kilometers long.

Uhm, let's see...

After at look at Chinese Wiki, I found it's numbered S4 according to it's name, Chengzilu expressway. The name suggests it will be extended to G76 Xiarong expressway at Luzhou.

highway in Benxi, Liaoning Province

http://www.lvwo.com/bbs/redirect.php?tid=20464&goto=lastpost#lastpost

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/s490/Lvwo2000/Liaoning%20province%20China/BenxicityChina.jpg

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/s490/Lvwo2000/Liaoning%20province%20China/BenxicityChina6.jpg

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/s490/Lvwo2000/Liaoning%20province%20China/BenxicityChina2.jpg

What a landscape!

Incredible interchange just beautiful

9.26 Five expressways opening on the same day

The 5 expressways, totaling 531 km, are opening today in Liaoning Province, making the northeastern province's total expressway length to 3900km.

http://img1.cache.netease.com/catchpic/B/BD/BD4DCB17612CF3570F1BF77BC93954AD.jpg

source (http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2012-09-26/183425259516.shtml)

Big-Dog, nice update. Always been a fan of your posts, they always have a new project associated with them.

A good video showing congestion During the Autumn Festival

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19781921

Time to start widening those roads

Well, they did open (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=95977956&postcount=186) approximately 1.400 kilometers of new expressways last week.

^^ Incredible job!!!:speech:How could they do it ?

Many hands make light work :)

Not just talking about length Chris... but width

Many Chinese express way's only seems to be 2x2 when in all honesty a country with China's population density should not even be considering anything less than 3x3... at least for the eastern half.

They have widened some of the early main routes to more lanes in recent years. The main routes between the largest cities were constructed first, often in the late 1990s with only 2x2 lanes. Some of them have been widened to 2x4 lanes.

A lot of these new build highway's seem to be 2x2 though.

It seems like a little bit of money saved now for a much bigger expense later on... especially where tunnels are concerned.

Most expressways that have been constructed since 2005 could be considered as a secondary network. The largest metropolitan areas have already been connected by motorways before 2005, so they are currently mainly constructing secondary routes within the network. A lot of them are provincial expressways that connect chiefly to mid-size cities. Some of the new (provincial) routes are still being constructed with 2x3 lanes, especially in the eastern plains south of Beijing.

I see...

Still the Chinese idea of a "mid-sized city" and ours may differ vastly :)

What's the total length of expressways in China now?

xinjiang expressway west China 8:20 amazing bridge
LpzOSYe6GcI

The bridge @ 1:40 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LpzOSYe6GcI#t=102s)is more impressive.

By alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7994147605/in/set-72157631553594382)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7994147605_9cfd4abf41_b.jpg

By alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7994147105/in/set-72157631553594382/)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/7994147105_e85f7c0596_b.jpg

Looking through the thread and there are some true gems:

Pics are scary. Even though china is developing it is still communist and in 5 more years India will be Number 1 economy in the World. Now it is in the fourth. India is a democray!!

:rofl:

Along with a ton of people saying "nothing special." For the most part it's normal infrastructure, the visually impressive transport infrastructure is with the high-speed rail.

Looking through the thread and there are some true gems:

:rofl:

Along with a ton of people saying "nothing special." For the most part it's normal infrastructure, the visually impressive transport infrastructure is with the high-speed rail.

But is it democray?

that bridge...

soooo strange to see such a bridge with such mountains instead of a flat water surface

This motorway needs to make almost 1000 m of altitude difference in just 25 km of air distance.
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.421276,81.087341&spn=0.253787,0.528374&t=p&z=12

But is it democray?

In practice, more than you think! Anyhow, it's more about economics.


Heard on All Things Considered

May 8, 2012 - AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. Ronald Coase is the oldest living winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. He's been alive for more than a century, had a profound effect on how we think about the field and he's found the time and energy to write a new book. David Kestenbaum with our Planet Money team spoke with him about it.

DAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: Setting up the interview with Professor Coase took a little while. We emailed our request to his assistant, who prints out his emails for him to read and we got the OK for a brief conversation...


KESTENBAUM: Coase has lived through the Great Depression. He was alive when we were on the gold standard. You could ask him about anything, but his assistant said he wanted to talk about his new book, which describes the sudden explosion of capitalism in China. Coase says this historic event completely took him by surprise, took almost everyone by surprise.

COASE: I thought it would take 100 years, if not more.

KESTENBAUM: What does that teach us that we were all wrong about this feat?

COASE: I don't know. I've been wrong so often, I don't find it extraordinary at all.

KESTENBAUM: Coase says he does think he's been more right than wrong over the years, which is probably the most any of us can hope for. With that, our time was up.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

COASE: OK.

KESTENBAUM: I'm David Kestenbaum, NPR News


- Copyright ©2012 National Public Radio (http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=152197483).



Near Chengdu,Sichuan :

By alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7887454142/in/set-72157631305140918/)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/7887454142_ca14e62538_b.jpg

Looking through the thread and there are some true gems:

:rofl:

Along with a ton of people saying "nothing special." For the most part it's normal infrastructure, the visually impressive transport infrastructure is with the high-speed rail.

That's guy is a troll. BTW it doesn't make sense to bring back very old post for discussion.

I was wasting time reading through the entire thread. It's interesting to see how attitudes change. Compared to now, China in 2005 was rather undeveloped. Incredible progress!

I hope noone would mind if I drop in my little photo report from a trip between Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Photos taken from a bus :)

Route (Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport - Shanghai Nanpu Bridge):
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8007499544_9cacd8c1fc_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007499544/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007499544/) by jo.sau (http://www.flickr.com/people/johnas/), on Flickr

As can be seen on the map, there are at least three direct expressway routes from Hangzhou to Shanghai. We're taking the middle one (G60) which goes along the new HSR train line. It's quite a sight to see those trains passing to either direction every few minutes..


Somewhere around Hangzhou
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8007475215_fbaf6973cf_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007475215/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/8007475085_53423e73e0_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007475085/)

Views around the expressway
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/8007474819_26f419c8ea_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007474819/)

Urbanization China style :)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8007477324_042e7ffafe_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007477324/)

Cutting the corner of Hangzhou and going towards G60
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/8007477184_1e75c9aaa7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007477184/)

This is the kind of traffic conditions you have to face in some places
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/8007476926_8fb9b9d486_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007476926/)

Signs
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8007474139_b67964d22f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007474139/)

Part of Hangzhou ring road. I'm not an expert but I would say this road needs widening
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/8007476688_b20fbb9007_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007476688/)

Will be turning to the main G60 route
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8007476552_319e5805e3_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8007476552/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/8010621904_6673b8a2c7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010621904/)

That elevated bridge is the new high-speed railway between Shanghai and Hangzhou
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8178/8010621760_4ed9d10f52_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010621760/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8010616233_5988c88fdd_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010616233/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/8010621532_6520336532_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010621532/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8010621416_94626d691d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010621416/)

CRH train overtaking us :D
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/8010615905_516c38b4d2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615905/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8306/8010615819_518580ee49_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615819/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8010615709_f22828c033_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615709/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/8010621060_370d3b9519_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010621060/)

Traffic was, in fact, not that busy. There is only one major problem - driving culture. Drivers act on the road as if someone has kicked them in the head. No such thing as lane discipline of any kind, everyone drives at any speed on any lane. Lots of space for improvement here :D
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/8010620942_efc870b9b9_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010620942/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/8010620604_8e41b693b2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010620604/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/8010615391_56f8d2391b_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615391/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8010615039_bf0865b8ea_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615039/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/8010620360_c5c96eb7af_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010620360/)

Tongxiang HSR railway station
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/8010614841_bbe388ff5a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614841/)

Approaching toll gates
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/8010620094_7e2b8243af_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010620094/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/8010614589_75cc5aaf42_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614589/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8034/8010619870_1b7e8a0fac_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010619870/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8041/8010614345_e1d7f704fc_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614345/)

Services area
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8010619608_aa1630e3ca_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010619608/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8010614015_da1e3aa856_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614015/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8010613925_8088214bb6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010613925/)

Some signs use English
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8010613803_cd77548f89_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010613803/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/8010613659_b45c9cbe59_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010613659/)

Approaching Shanghai
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/8010613557_cca83057cf_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010613557/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/8010613465_ae671d97f6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010613465/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/8010618758_bbd207efc1_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010618758/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8010618678_62b25bd460_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010618678/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/8010618598_f67e7c2aa2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010618598/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8010612711_9fb2ef77de_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010612711/)

This is where we get onto the elevated expressway system of Shanghai
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/8010610217_7107cc3cb8_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010610217/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8316/8010615716_3aebecc8e9_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615716/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/8010615164_187b76fd46_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615164/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8010615592_14464229fc_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615592/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8032/8010615446_cb24db36ee_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615446/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/8010615296_c935637e95_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010615296/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8010614930_4aa4eab840_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614930/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/8010614806_983d89903a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010614806/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/8010609031_7a6561c45b_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010609031/)

Approaching Nanpu Bridge
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8010608907_69b983af8b_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010608907/)


This is all. It is rather amazing as getting to virtually any spot in Shanghai can be done without exiting the expressway. Good job they did building all of that. :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8010612711_9fb2ef77de_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnas/8010612711/)
What is doing this man in the middle of these roads?
Awesome pictures:) :cheers:

^^
That's a good question about that man. I don't think it's easy to get onto such road because it's walled off from all sides. He may be some worker.

What's the total length of expressways in China now?

Here it is:

Historical Development of Expressway Length in China

Year Distance(km)
01-01-1988 0
01-01-1989 147
01-01-1990 271
01-01-1991 522
01-01-1992 574
01-01-1993 652
01-01-1994 1145
01-01-1995 1603
01-01-1996 2141
01-01-1997 3422
01-01-1998 4771
01-01-1999 8733
01-01-2000 11605
01-01-2001 16314
01-01-2002 19453
01-01-2003 25200
01-01-2004 29800
01-01-2005 34300
01-01-2006 41005
01-01-2007 45339
01-01-2008 53913
01-01-2009 60346
01-01-2010 65065
01-01-2011 74000
01-01-2012 85000
01-01-2013 96000 projected

^^
Thanks. Any more major openings scheduled this year?

^^ Not many major opening like HSRs. At this stage, most contructing highways are segments or branches reaching tier III or county level cities. From china-highway's opening report (http://www.china-highway.com/html/62/) (Chinese only), there are highway openings (mostly segments) amost every day around Chinese provinces.

This map from wiki shows operational (Blue) and U/C or planned (Red) expressways. From the map there are still plenty of gaps to fill in the coming years.

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/735px-Map_of_NTHS_Expressways_of_China.png

That map is significantly outdated (like just about any map of China 1 year after it's published :D )

Yeah! The one I have is really really outdated. I would say when a China road map is published is already outdated :lol:.

Are they really planning a tunnel to Taiwan? It's more than 100km and relations between the two countries aren't that good...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8010612711_9fb2ef77de_o.jpg
What is doing this man in the middle of these roads?
Awesome pictures:) :cheers:

I was taking S4 to Ningbo direction for the long holiday last week. The traffic outbound is very heavy just like that in above picture. But outside Shanghai it's an amazing driving experience. Below are some of the photos I took on the road.

My driving route

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/map1.jpg

Xihoumen Bridge (main span 1650m, world's 2nd longest suspension bridge)

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9932-2.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9585-1.jpg

Taoyaomen Bridge

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9601.jpg

Jintang Bridge (21km)

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9968.jpg

City of Zhoushan, near my destination

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9902.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/IMG_9903.jpg

^^

Great tour, BD!

Recent photos I found on flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7844331194_ebe6143aef_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844331194/)
Beautiful expressway through Anhui (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844331194/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7844335632_63e69b3d39_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844335632/)
At least this one has a warning triangle. . . (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844335632/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7110/7844332862_6c533c8c19_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844332862/)
There isn't really a concept of the "wide load" being different (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7844332862/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7856984174_a41a8d3266_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7856984174/)
Incredible viaduct- it went on for miles (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7856984174/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

Are such vehicles road-legal in China?

I think they are within regular weight limits. Cars are not that heavy, normal European trucks have a loading volume of 24 tons, and I don't think 20 minivans are much heavier.

The dimensions are another issue though. The one with 2 rows of cars cannot use his mirrors properly, he'll only see his load, not traffic.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7844335632_63e69b3d39_o.jpg
It is like two cars driving one lane. Is the width within the limit? I know in Iran if a truck is wider than a limit it must be escorted by two cars with red flags, one at the front and one at the back. Is it like that in China?

I think they are within regular weight limits. Cars are not that heavy, normal European trucks have a loading volume of 24 tons, and I don't think 20 minivans are much heavier.

The dimensions are another issue though. The one with 2 rows of cars cannot use his mirrors properly, he'll only see his load, not traffic.

This is what I mean i.e. dimensions of the truck. That doesn't look safe at all.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7984188809_7ea935e587_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7984188809/)
This truck was loaded with 16 other trucks (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7984188809/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

That is not even funny :ohno:

Motorway lane width is normally about 12 feet (144 inches)

The average car is about 6 feet wide (72 inches) , so two cars will just about fit in one lane if they are directly side by side with no gap.

Pickup trucks and full sized van's/SUV's are normally about 6.7 feet wide (80 inches) and wont fit in a single lane side by side.

Feet? Inches? Can we, please, use metric here?

http://www.convert-me.com

Motorway lane width: 3.66 meters

Average car width: 1.83 meters

Truck/Van/SUV width: 2.03 meters

not so hard really ;)

You think they use 3.66 m wide lane standards in metric countries? ;)

... yes I believe lane width's are fairly similar globally

for example Canadian legislation dictates a minimum lane width of no less than 3.5 Meters

Lane width in China is 3.5 to 3.75m. Never heard of 3.66m :D

sounds about right...

Bringing me back to my initial point... in theory you could squeeze 2 average cars side by side into one lane without overlap, but not anything larger.

I very much doubt those Chinese trucks with commercial vehicles side by side will fit into a single lane... hence the reason he is partially on the shoulder.

Looks like something jerry rigged at the factory and I would be surprised if this sort of practice is allowed to continue.

Those trucks must be very unstable in less than perfect weather conditions. In any dangerous traffic situation this could quickly leads to overturning.

http://www.convert-me.com

Motorway lane width: 3.66 meters

Average car width: 1.83 meters

Truck/Van/SUV width: 2.03 meters

not so hard really ;)

Now that's better than those monstrous ununderstandable units. thanks :)

Those monstrous units built the modern world ;)

Those monstrous units built the modern world ;)
They built mostly North America. Europe switched to metric in early 19th century. These units are not bad actually but I don't personally like them because I don't see any logic in them. (eg: Farenhait Unit)

You think they use 3.66 m wide lane standards in metric countries? ;)

In Italy it's 3,75.

In Italy it's 3,75.

I wish there's a world wide standard of lane width with 4 meters wide, period. no more of 3.75, 3.6, or 3.4...etc. just 4 meters wide, whole number, easy to calculate!:nuts: 4 meters is wide enough for almost any kind of vehicles around the world. from a mini cooper to a Leopard II tank.

I wish there's a world wide standard of lane width with 4 meters wide, period. no more of 3.75, 3.6, or 3.4...etc. just 4 meters wide, whole number, easy to calculate!:nuts: 4 meters is wide enough for almost any kind of vehicles around the world. from a mini cooper to a Leopard II tank.

4 is too wide. 3.75 is enough.

highways built to connect Zhengxin CBD, Zhengzhou, Henan Province

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/66271358201209231412451489026361674.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/66271358201209231412451489026361674-1.jpg

by 我爱自由夏天, gaouloumi.com

highways built to connect Zhengxin CBD, Zhengzhou, Henan Province

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/66271358201209231412451489026361674.jpg

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/66271358201209231412451489026361674-1.jpg

by 我爱自由夏天, gaouloumi.com

it's dosen't look like a ghost city as some media said.

The other side of the Chinese construction boom.

In total some 40 people have set themselves on fire protesting against the construction and expropriation of their houses since 2009 in China.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9599098/Chinese-setting-themselves-on-fire-to-protest-against-forced-evictions.html

Beijing-Baotou Expressway

http://pic15.nipic.com/20110616/3970232_211843563000_2.jpg

http://pic10.nipic.com/20101103/881515_124059042000_2.jpg

http://pic14.nipic.com/20110506/3903886_142258345134_2.jpg

http://pic17.nipic.com/20111114/2816766_135041530171_2.jpg

http://pic16.nipic.com/20110919/8256248_195835147000_2.jpg

http://pic15.nipic.com/20110618/3970232_130320319000_2.jpg

http://pic10.nipic.com/20101028/4372063_153852029461_2.jpg

http://pic4.nipic.com/20090924/889679_001952426307_2.jpg

http://pic9.nipic.com/20100906/2599038_163839077599_2.jpg

http://pic9.nipic.com/20100825/4372063_135032018910_2.jpg

http://pic16.nipic.com/20110902/1997214_105259395194_2.jpg

http://pic15.nipic.com/20110805/4219844_134040685113_2.jpg

http://pic4.nipic.com/20090924/889679_000103116616_2.jpg

http://pic17.nipic.com/20111114/2816766_134912373166_2.jpg

http://pic19.nipic.com/20120227/7390015_153209072000_2.jpg

http://pic19.nipic.com/20120227/7390015_155013695000_2.jpg

http://pica.nipic.com/2008-04-28/2008428172955534_2.jpg

http://pic17.nipic.com/20111119/8485316_154554225199_2.jpg

http://pic12.nipic.com/20110102/6442798_052830100414_2.jpg

http://pic17.nipic.com/20111123/6647776_192801215196_2.jpg

http://pic12.nipic.com/20110112/4120136_095720156000_2.jpg

http://pic9.nipic.com/20100906/2599038_163845079092_2.jpg

http://pic4.nipic.com/20090926/460642_110956032205_2.jpg

http://pic19.nipic.com/20120227/7390015_153659076000_2.jpg

http://pic18.nipic.com/20111204/3130060_082730593000_2.jpg

http://pic17.nipic.com/20111123/6647776_192801410197_2.jpg

http://pic4.nipic.com/20090924/889679_000736740107_2.jpg

http://pic4.nipic.com/20090923/889679_235933724072_2.jpg

http://pic18.nipic.com/20111221/9100388_140028510112_2.jpg

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it's dosen't look like a ghost city as some media said.

I am sure some locals there wish it's a ghost city now :lol: .

The other side of the Chinese construction boom.

In total some 40 people have set themselves on fire protesting against the construction and expropriation of their houses since 2009 in China.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9599098/Chinese-setting-themselves-on-fire-to-protest-against-forced-evictions.html

In other parts of the world, it's called suicide.

Technically, most of those "homes" don't really belong to anyone (property laws in China?).

They can't really be "evicted" but they can't really stay either!

^^

Wonderful pics

It'd be nice if those links can be fixed, hot linking is always an issue with those sites.

The newly opened expressways that Google Map hasn't updated yet. Nice work.

https://ditu.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=zh-CN&msa=0&msid=100107433478716901192.000468841edf57845e1a3&ll=33.906896,117.070313&spn=24.117582,46.538086&z=5&brcurrent=3,0x35f05296e7142cb9:0xc07795bb38ddcfa7,1%3B5,0,1

Hi everyone,
Does anyboody know where can I find a map of the routes, highways, motorways, etc of China. I know they always are building knew ones, but I mean if there is a map at least of 2011, or of the first half of 2012. I have to do a work comparing infrastructure of China and India.
Thank you

Google Maps is fairly accurate if you don't take new expressways that opened within 9 - 12 months into account.

Quite low AADT, it seems, in that new 3+3-laned expressway...

Google Maps is fairly accurate if you don't take new expressways that opened within 9 - 12 months into account.

And they will update the maps soon. First they update Google Earth (Which has already been updated), then Google Maps.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7984188809_7ea935e587_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7984188809/)
This truck was loaded with 16 other trucks (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpcco/7984188809/) by alpcco (http://www.flickr.com/people/lpcco/), on Flickr

hows to drop up n down those vehicles?

And they will update the maps soon. First they update Google Earth (Which has already been updated), then Google Maps.

Updated. They should update more often, it has been 14 months since last update.

From the motorway opening thread:

29th November: S9 Chengma expressway Duwen section, Yingxiu to Wenchuan (Sichuan), 48 km.

I think its name the Duwen Expressway (Dujianguan - Wenchuan).

This expressway runs through spectaculair terrain, the mountains are up to 5300 meters high in this area.

Yeah, but the S9 designation ultimately will run from Chengdu to Gansu border near Maqu, so I named it the Chengma expressway, made up from Chengguan, Duwen and Wenma expressways (The later one planned).

By the way:
November 25th: From G40 S of Taizhou to G42 NW of Changzhou (Jiangsu, 62 km). I'm sure the Southern half is S39.

And the Northern half is S35. So I found another expressway for my list of things numbered 35, where is the G35 Jiguang expressway among others :D

The newly opened expressways that Google Map hasn't updated yet. Nice work.

https://ditu.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=zh-CN&msa=0&msid=100107433478716901192.000468841edf57845e1a3&ll=33.906896,117.070313&spn=24.117582,46.538086&z=5&brcurrent=3,0x35f05296e7142cb9:0xc07795bb38ddcfa7,1%3B5,0,1
Interesting! Kashghar-Khotan Expressway seems to be partially openend. I think they should also build a Kashghar-Murghab (TJ) Motorway. That link can easily be developed into a China-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran-Turkey-Europe motorway.

And the Northern half is S35. So I found another expressway for my list of things numbered 35, where is the G35 Jiguang expressway among others :D

It seems we have a similar passion (maybe yours could be called "trigintaquintology"). I look forward to the completion of the G42 from Shanghai to Chengdu, and the S42 in Anhui province from the junction of G3/G56 at Huangshan to (and beyond?) Qimen.

Interesting! Kashghar-Khotan Expressway seems to be partially openend. I think they should also build a Kashghar-Murghab (TJ) Motorway. That link can easily be developed into a China-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran-Turkey-Europe motorway.

An expressway from Kashgar to KS border in Irkhestan is planned. It will be the G3013.

It seems we have a similar passion (maybe yours could be called "trigintaquintology"). I look forward to the completion of the G42 from Shanghai to Chengdu, and the S42 in Anhui province from the junction of G3/G56 at Huangshan to (and beyond?) Qimen.

Anhui's S42 will go to Jiangxi border. I'm awaiting for the S35 in Southern Zhejiang, too.

An expressway to Irkeshtam makes little sense from a traffic-economic point of view. The Kyrgyz side wasn't even paved until 2007. The traffic counts in Kyrgyzstan are only 80 - 160 vehicles per day.

And in addition, the quicker and easier China <-> Europe connection would run via Ürümqi and the Dzungarian Gate. The days of the Silk Route are over. Historical reasons for a route along Silk Route traces are just that: historical.

Kazakhstan is currently upgrading the modern Silk Route (see Kazakh thread for that). Much easier considering the terrain in southern Central Asia. Also economically more viable than building roads through the Karakum Desert.

I still think Kashghar-Murghab-Khurugh-Pule Khumri-Mazar Sharif-Harat-Iran is a better choice and it will boost Afghan and Tajik economy. The route is also convenient during the winter, unlike the Kazakh route.

Of course, the Silk road as a link between China and Europe is out of date, but the regional development just has started. The west of China and the central Asian republics still have great opportunities, they are rich of energy and raw materials.

Of course, the Silk road as a link between China and Europe is out of date, but the regional development just has started. The west of China and the central Asian republics still have great opportunities, they are rich of energy and raw materials.
The case is that transportation from China to Europe is way cheaper and more efficient via sea. The reason for the improvement of roads in Central Asia is that those countries are land-locked, so they need to have good access to sea ports or directly to the trading partners.

^^ I agree. Which is why there is definite merit in the current approach of a route into Almaty and Central Asia, since traffic into Europe proper will not be sustainable enough to justify expressway construction. Accordingly, China's choice to build the G30 as it did (and not to the Dzungarian Gate) also made sense.

I disagree on the use of the Southern option via Kashgar and the Irkeshtam as being preferable for traffic into Europe. Yes, winters in Kazachstan may be cold, but winters in the mountains that you'll need to cross between Kashgar and Iran are equally cold. The fact that they somehow manage to keep open the Pamir Highway through the winter (while all other major routes east from Dushanbe are closed due to snow) is not to say that that terrain is halfway helpful for a quicker crossing into Europe. Even into Iran, the detour via Almaty, Tashkent and Turkmenistan would appear easier to constuct and keep open during winter. Appreciating of course that the Tajik and Afghan economies would be greatly helped by an improved new trade route via Khorog and Herat, but the countries remain -to put it bluntly- a backwater and have become one for a reason.

The case is that transportation from China to Europe is way cheaper and more efficient via sea. The reason for the improvement of roads in Central Asia is that those countries are land-locked, so they need to have good access to sea ports or directly to the trading partners.

Its not completely true... there are huge plans with a railroad link from China into Europe through Kazachstan.

This would mainly benefit western China. The further away from the seacoast is the production and the further away from the seacoast is the destination the more reason to go the whole way on the railroad directly from A to B.

Indeed. Much of Chinese manufacturing is along the coast because of their access to seaborne trade. However, this can shift to western China if land transportation to Europe becomes reliable. Ürümqi - Central Germany is 6.500 kilometer by road or rail and 20.000 kilometers from Shanghai to Rotterdam by ship.

indeed, railway is more feasible than road transport. The roadway network has a more regional role, rather than an intercontinental one...

There already is a small market for trucking between Central Asia and Europe, chiefly from Kazakhstan and sometimes from other republics like Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan. Western China is just the next step. It is also known that some central European trucking companies do travel into Kazakhstan.

There already is a small market for trucking between Central Asia and Europe, chiefly from Kazakhstan and sometimes from other republics like Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan. Western China is just the next step. It is also known that some central European trucking companies do travel into Kazakhstan.
In Tehran-Tabriz Freeway, I have seen lots of Turkmen and several Kyrgyz trucks. So yeah that is true, in both corridors. But it is still limited...

Indeed. Much of Chinese manufacturing is along the coast because of their access to seaborne trade. However, this can shift to western China if land transportation to Europe becomes reliable. Ürümqi - Central Germany is 6.500 kilometer by road or rail and 20.000 kilometers from Shanghai to Rotterdam by ship.
Transportation of goods by sea is incredibly cheap. I once heard a figure that merchandise manufactured in China can be shipped to Europe for often as little as 10 cents per piece (it depends on the size of the merchandise of course). No other type of transport comes remotely close to that number. That type of economics means that, even from an inland location in China to an inland location in Europe, shipping for 20,000 km plus connecting transport will typically remain cheaper than chartering trucks or trains for the full 6,000 kilometer journey. You could of course opt for faster means of transport at a higher price, but you'd only do so for specific merchandise.

But if you're in Xinjiang, the sea is almost certainly too far away to remain a real factor in transport. Which is probably where a good railway connection might be of help.

Transportation of goods by sea is incredibly cheap. I once heard a figure that merchandise manufactured in China can be shipped to Europe for often as little as 10 cents per piece (it depends on the size of the merchandise of course). No other type of transport comes remotely close to that number. That type of economics means that, even from an inland location in China to an inland location in Europe, shipping for 20,000 km plus connecting transport will typically remain cheaper than chartering trucks or trains for the full 6,000 kilometer journey. You could of course opt for faster means of transport at a higher price, but you'd only do so for specific merchandise.

But if you're in Xinjiang, the sea is almost certainly too far away to remain a real factor in transport. Which is probably where a good railway connection might be of help.
From Xinjiang's border to a port in Oman sea, for example, Karachi, Gwader or Chabahar, it is less than 3000 km. These are the closest all-year round sea port.

But if you're in Xinjiang, the sea is almost certainly too far away to remain a real factor in transport. Which is probably where a good railway connection might be of help.

What's wrong with existing railways?

^^ They might be just fine; I don't know. I did not imply to say that anything was wrong with them. Probably you can only tell if the market for this type of transcontinental transport matures ...

From Xinjiang's border to a port in Oman sea, for example, Karachi, Gwader or Chabahar, it is less than 3000 km. These are the closest all-year round sea port.
Port might be all-year, but the road there is not.

^^ They might be just fine; I don't know. I did not imply to say that anything was wrong with them. Probably you can only tell if the market for this type of transcontinental transport matures ...


Port might be all-year, but the road there is not.
Because they are not built by the standards. This is the main problem. For example, why are all the motorways in Alpes Highlands in France and Switzerland all year round?

Sorry mate, a comparison between the Tian Shan and the Karakoram on the one hand and the Alps on the other hand is a bit ridiculous. Just compare the ranges. The main crossings over the Alps are no higher than 2000 meters in altitude. The lower ones (notably the Brenner) have been overcome with a motorway over the saddle, the higher ones have been tunneled at an altitude that is typically around 1100 meters. The main tunnel is never longer than 17 kilometers. Within some 100 kilometers from the pass, you are invariably back at lowland altitudes. Compare that to Karakoram, which is truly a drive of hundreds of kilometers through very difficult terrain leading to pass at over 4500 meters, as high as the highest peaks in the Alps. It's not something that can be cut short by a few tunnels.

The economic analysis is completely different as well. The costs for the Alpine countries of not offering a transalpine connection at any time of the year is huge, since the demand for transalpine connections is large. Sending traffic on a bypass of hundreds of kilometers (e.g. Basel to Milan via Ventimiglia) is so costly that it justifies the costs of creating an all-year connection. The potential demand for trans-Karakoram or trans-Tian Shan is much lower, very much lower. So nobody will make the investment.

However, most of any new roads that would be built in those regions would be beside rivers, which makes it easier to build.

^^ You may want to go out and have a reality check.

Beside rivers is probably easier to build than having to move from valley to valley, but it took Pakistan a couple of decades to build their side of the KKH for a reason. The valley is narrow. Building near the actual riverbed is prone to flooding and landslides, building uphill will require bridges and tunnels all over the place to permit motorists to drive faster. The further you want to move towards expressway standard, the more billions the work would cost.

In terms of bridges and tunnels it would be absolutely stunning, but economically it would be a complete waste. I'd rather see China save Greece or so.

^^ You may want to go out and have a reality check.

Beside rivers is probably easier to build than having to move from valley to valley, but it took Pakistan a couple of decades to build their side of the KKH for a reason. The valley is narrow. Building near the actual riverbed is prone to flooding and landslides, building uphill will require bridges and tunnels all over the place to permit motorists to drive faster. The further you want to move towards expressway standard, the more billions the work would cost.

In terms of bridges and tunnels it would be absolutely stunning, but economically it would be a complete waste. I'd rather see China save Greece or so.

Fortunately, China has been doing an excelent job in building those types of motorways. Many of the pictures are in this forum itself. Like this one from I suppose would be G5.
http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091614679113.jpg
Or this one
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161080_274245.jpg

However, I would have to agree that with current demand, it would be a waste of resources and just a master peice for show-off.

What's wrong with existing railways?

Well, it wouldn't be a problem if Russian railroads used the same technical standards (track gauge, coupling, etc) as those in China and central and western Europe, now would it?

;)

Mike

Fortunately, China has been doing an excelent job in building those types of motorways. Many of the pictures are in this forum itself. Like this one from I suppose would be G5.
http://bbs.wforum.com/upfile/201207/20120718091614679113.jpg
Or this one
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/davidwei01/2841_161080_274245.jpg

^^ I like it

sooo... very long bridge but find a pertol ?? how??

Transportation of goods by sea is incredibly cheap. I once heard a figure that merchandise manufactured in China can be shipped to Europe for often as little as 10 cents per piece (it depends on the size of the merchandise of course). No other type of transport comes remotely close to that number. That type of economics means that, even from an inland location in China to an inland location in Europe, shipping for 20,000 km plus connecting transport will typically remain cheaper than chartering trucks or trains for the full 6,000 kilometer journey. You could of course opt for faster means of transport at a higher price, but you'd only do so for specific merchandise.

But if you're in Xinjiang, the sea is almost certainly too far away to remain a real factor in transport. Which is probably where a good railway connection might be of help.

China-Europe freight costs and time

Sea Freight: Lowest Cost. 60days+
Air Freight: Highest Cost. <7days

In between those 2 options is the railway which is medium cost and takes 20days

^^ You may want to go out and have a reality check.

Beside rivers is probably easier to build than having to move from valley to valley, but it took Pakistan a couple of decades to build their side of the KKH for a reason. The valley is narrow. Building near the actual riverbed is prone to flooding and landslides, building uphill will require bridges and tunnels all over the place to permit motorists to drive faster. The further you want to move towards expressway standard, the more billions the work would cost.

In terms of bridges and tunnels it would be absolutely stunning, but economically it would be a complete waste. I'd rather see China save Greece or so.

Would a Karakorum-Pakistan railway be technically more challenging than the Qinghai-Tibet railway?

Note that China decided against a highway for Tibet because they don't work in the winter, and that long-distance transport costs are much lower for a train.