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China Transportation

China has improved a comprehensive transportaiton system which consists of railways, highways, airplanes, waterways. In 2004, the number of passengers transported reached 1, 761, 453. As the transportation industry continues to expand in both quality and scale, it significantly contributes to the advancement of society as well as the national economy. As transportation in China becomes more accessible and more reliable, it is also becoming more technologically advanced. Modern modes of transportation such as express highways, electrified railroads, metros, light railways, and maglev railways are becoming increasingly common, especially in larger cities.
Since 1978, China airlines have witnessed a dramatic improvement every year. By the end of 2003, a total of 1,176 domestic and international airlines were operated in China. The hubs of China's air travel are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, with international flights to major cities around the world, as well as domestic flights to major cities within the country. The total mileage of railways open to traffic in China amounts to 100,000km, which form an extensive network with Beijing as the hub. Same-day fast trains shuttle between major cities.Tourist trains make the journey pleasant for those bound for major tourist cities. The sleeping carriages running on China's railways are partitioned into compartments each containing four cushioned berths arranged in upper and lower berths.
Almost all Chinese cities, counties and towns are accessible by highways. China depends on its numerous and complicated highways at all levels crisscrossing the country in a dense network. With a total of 35,000 kilometers (21,748 miles), the overall length of the expressways in China is the second longest in the world. Huge investments are being made to maintain and afforest the highways. With the increased demands of China's tremendous development the highway system is playing an ever more vital role in China's transportation. Bridge and tunnel construction, which is absolutely necessary to highway building in some special areas, also has achieved great success. Increasing by thousands of kilometers a year, many highways, including roads and expressways, are now in the process of design for construction in the near or far future.

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