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Driving In China: Article in the NY Times Magazine
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Didn't read the whole thing, but what I read is very interesting. And very true. Living in Beijing for around four years, I have seen a lot of road construction going on. When I came in 2002:
-Beijing had 'only' the second, third, and fourth ring road.
-The airport expressway terminated at the third ring road.
-Traffic to Chengde had to use the old, under-capacity route.
-Many streets in Beijing were small and very under capacity.
Now, in 2006:
-Beijing has 2 new ringways: the fifth ring road, the sixth ring road.
-The airport expressway is carried on a 1 1/2 (or 2) km elevated viaduct through urban Beijing to the second ring road.
-The motorway to Chengde is completely open on the Hebei side, partially open on the Beijing side.
-There has been a massive investment on widening and constructing new wide avenues in central Beijing.
It is also interesting to note that in 1993, when I was born, Beijing had 2 radial motorways, and 2 ringways. Now it has eight radial motorways, and 5 ringways.
Along with that, many more people are buying cars, and many more people are driving, though many still hire drivers. This means that the roads that were fully flowing ten years ago are now congested.
There are a few interesting things about motorways in China:
1) Hard shoulders are known as emergency lanes. This is shown every so often on special gantires showing the speed limit for each lane, along with a 'no entry' sign above the hard shoulder.
2) ALL of the motorways are tolled, unless in urban areas. This is done with a rather smart tolling system though. When you get on the motorway, you stop at a tollbooth to get a ticket. Then you drive on the entire motorway network for as long as you want (though you do have to occasionaly stop at a mainline tollgate to pay the toll for what you have driven so far and get a new ticket), and you present your ticket in a different tollbooth when you get off and pay for as much as you drove. This way is very exact, as the official price for driving on a motorway is 0.5RMB per km. (16RMB=1 Pound).
3) All motorway sliproads are one lane. You have to look very hard to find one that isn't. And mostly all motorway mainlines are D3M, though with thin hard-shoulders, sort of like a hard strip.
4) Almost all motorways are sort of 'bordered'. Ie, there is a the barrier in the central reservation, and the are always barriers on the other side of the carriageway, like below:
5) Old motorways (from 10-15 years ago) were built according to very low standards. Signs are falling apart, there is barelly any hard shoulder, the surface is terrible, and the Jingshi expressway doesn't even have a central barrier, it has a grassy central reservation. It is a very good example for the very poor motorway standards which China used to have. The toll gate in the beggining of the motorway is four lanes wide, so is always congested. The english signage is very poor, so you don't have much luck attempting to follow it to get anywhere. Apart from that, if you head away from Beijing, the exit numbers go 16, 17, 18, 0. They go to zero since the exit numbers are restarted on the Hebei border.
The Beijing section is very narrow, with substandard signs and a terrible surface, along with narrow exists and poor design. And it was only built 13 years ago.
Apart from that, you have to be mad to drive in China. There is a complete disregard for rules. If the wrong carriageway of the road is quieter, you drive there. Red lights are optional. Speed limits are ignored and are not reinforced. Cycles are everywhere. Pedestrians don't have any right of way. Anywhere. Ever.
Overall, he amount the Chinese government is investing in motorways is amazing. In then last fifteen years, they turned their non-existant motorway system into a thorough road network that can get you almost anywhere you want, fast. It is really a joy to travel on roads in China (unfortunantly, I can't drive for another 6 years or so
, but still). A must for any roader. Highly reccomended are Shanghai, Hongkong, and Beijing.
-Beijing had 'only' the second, third, and fourth ring road.
-The airport expressway terminated at the third ring road.
-Traffic to Chengde had to use the old, under-capacity route.
-Many streets in Beijing were small and very under capacity.
Now, in 2006:
-Beijing has 2 new ringways: the fifth ring road, the sixth ring road.
-The airport expressway is carried on a 1 1/2 (or 2) km elevated viaduct through urban Beijing to the second ring road.
-The motorway to Chengde is completely open on the Hebei side, partially open on the Beijing side.
-There has been a massive investment on widening and constructing new wide avenues in central Beijing.
It is also interesting to note that in 1993, when I was born, Beijing had 2 radial motorways, and 2 ringways. Now it has eight radial motorways, and 5 ringways.
Along with that, many more people are buying cars, and many more people are driving, though many still hire drivers. This means that the roads that were fully flowing ten years ago are now congested.
There are a few interesting things about motorways in China:
1) Hard shoulders are known as emergency lanes. This is shown every so often on special gantires showing the speed limit for each lane, along with a 'no entry' sign above the hard shoulder.
2) ALL of the motorways are tolled, unless in urban areas. This is done with a rather smart tolling system though. When you get on the motorway, you stop at a tollbooth to get a ticket. Then you drive on the entire motorway network for as long as you want (though you do have to occasionaly stop at a mainline tollgate to pay the toll for what you have driven so far and get a new ticket), and you present your ticket in a different tollbooth when you get off and pay for as much as you drove. This way is very exact, as the official price for driving on a motorway is 0.5RMB per km. (16RMB=1 Pound).
3) All motorway sliproads are one lane. You have to look very hard to find one that isn't. And mostly all motorway mainlines are D3M, though with thin hard-shoulders, sort of like a hard strip.
4) Almost all motorways are sort of 'bordered'. Ie, there is a the barrier in the central reservation, and the are always barriers on the other side of the carriageway, like below:
5) Old motorways (from 10-15 years ago) were built according to very low standards. Signs are falling apart, there is barelly any hard shoulder, the surface is terrible, and the Jingshi expressway doesn't even have a central barrier, it has a grassy central reservation. It is a very good example for the very poor motorway standards which China used to have. The toll gate in the beggining of the motorway is four lanes wide, so is always congested. The english signage is very poor, so you don't have much luck attempting to follow it to get anywhere. Apart from that, if you head away from Beijing, the exit numbers go 16, 17, 18, 0. They go to zero since the exit numbers are restarted on the Hebei border.
The Beijing section is very narrow, with substandard signs and a terrible surface, along with narrow exists and poor design. And it was only built 13 years ago.
Apart from that, you have to be mad to drive in China. There is a complete disregard for rules. If the wrong carriageway of the road is quieter, you drive there. Red lights are optional. Speed limits are ignored and are not reinforced. Cycles are everywhere. Pedestrians don't have any right of way. Anywhere. Ever.
Overall, he amount the Chinese government is investing in motorways is amazing. In then last fifteen years, they turned their non-existant motorway system into a thorough road network that can get you almost anywhere you want, fast. It is really a joy to travel on roads in China (unfortunantly, I can't drive for another 6 years or so
, but still). A must for any roader. Highly reccomended are Shanghai, Hongkong, and Beijing.The author of the article mentioned the hedges in the central reservation as being very helpful in keeping down the glare at night from opposing headlights.
Toward the end of the story he mentions the creeping suburban sprawl that eastern China seems to be embarking on thanks to ever-increasing rate of car ownership and better highways.
We here in America hear a lot about how "soulless" our newer suburbs are from both domestic critics and some abroad as well and the writer suggests China may be moving toward that model, at least on the outskirts of the biggest cities.
All in all very fascinating stuff.
Toward the end of the story he mentions the creeping suburban sprawl that eastern China seems to be embarking on thanks to ever-increasing rate of car ownership and better highways.
We here in America hear a lot about how "soulless" our newer suburbs are from both domestic critics and some abroad as well and the writer suggests China may be moving toward that model, at least on the outskirts of the biggest cities.
All in all very fascinating stuff.
Bill
-
J N Winkler
- Member
- Posts: 3972
- Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2003 20:21
- Location: Oxford
This is indeed an interesting article. A few observations and questions:
* I wonder what the business model is for these "for-profit" driving clubs. Are Chinese otherwise significantly limited in where they can go in a car?
* $1.85 per U.S. gallon is financially possible only if gasoline is tax-free or (lightly) subsidized in China.
* I wonder what the business model is for these "for-profit" driving clubs. Are Chinese otherwise significantly limited in where they can go in a car?
* $1.85 per U.S. gallon is financially possible only if gasoline is tax-free or (lightly) subsidized in China.