The China National Highways (CNH/Guodao) () is a network of
trunk roads across
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Apart from the
expressways of China
The expressway network of China, with the national-level expressway system officially known as the National Trunk Highway System (; abbreviated as NTHS), is an integrated system of national and provincial-level expressways in China.Li, Si-ming ...
that are planned and constructed later, most of the CNH are not
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s.
History
![318国道 - panoramio (7)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/318%E5%9B%BD%E9%81%93_-_panoramio_%287%29.jpg)
The building of highways is seen as key to accelerating infrastructure construction. In 2003, completed investment in highway construction was 350 billion yuan and 219 key highway projects progressed, focusing mainly on the five north–south and seven east–west national arterial highways as well as highways in western China and in rural areas. By the end of 2004, the total length of highways open to traffic reached 1.871 million km, including of expressways up to advanced modern transportation standard, ranking second in the world. The nation's highway density has now reached 19.5 km per 100 km
2.
With the completion in 2008 of the five north–south and the seven east–west national arterial highways, totaling , Beijing and Shanghai were linked by major highways, chiefly expressways, to the capitals of all provinces and autonomous regions of China, creating highway connections between over 200 cities.
The aim of the
National Expressway Network Plan approved in early 2005 is an expressway system connecting all capitals of provinces and autonomous regions with Beijing and with each other, linking major cities and important counties. The network will have a total length of about , including seven originating in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
; the Beijing-
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, Beijing-
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, Beijing-
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
-
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, Beijing-
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
, Beijing-
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, Beijing-
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, and Beijing-
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
expressways. Half of the projects are already completed.
In 2013 the Ministry of Transport announced the "
National Highway Network Planning (2013 - 2030)", which will bring the total number of highways to 119, with 81 connecting highways between them. The total mileage will be increased to , with increased focus on the western and less developed regions.
In 2022, the
NDRC and
MOT
Mot or MOT may refer to:
Media
* Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
* ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine
* Mot (Star Trek), a minor character in ''Star Trek: The Next Gene ...
published a new National Highway Network Plan (), added and re-formed several expressways and national highways. It is expected that all national highways will connect all county-level (or above) administrative regions (except those that are parts of
Sansha
Sansha City () is a prefecture-level city under the Hainan province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and is the southernmost and least populated prefecture in China, with the smallest land area but the largest maritime territory. The ci ...
), important national tourist attractions and border checkpoints.
Regulation
![G110 Xiguan roundabout](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/G110_Xiguan_roundabout.jpg)
Although an accepted speed limit on China National Highways is 120 km/h, it is common to see cars pass other by in excess of 120 km/h. The lack of speed detection cameras on some routes, lack of a posted speed limit outside of localities and tremendous distances of road mileage, means that enforcing this speed limit is rather herculean. In addition, there is a notable shortage of traffic police in mainland China.
Nationwide highways often begin with the letter GXXX, followed by three numerals, e.g.: G107. It is said that the GXXX stands for 国家 (''guójiā''), or national.
The numbering of the highways is as follows:
* Five vertical and seven horizontal main routes were labelled in the former 000 series (the so-called "five downs and seven acrosses"), although these have been deprecated in favour of the
"NTHS" (7, 11, 18) system.
* Highways in the 100 series (e.g. 102, 106) begin from
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
- the capital city of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
- and spread out in all compass directions, except for
China National Highway 112
China National Highway 112 is a 1228 km ring road which runs outside Beijing (municipality).
Route and distance
See also
* China National Highways
{{Roads and Expressways of Beijing
112 112 may refer to:
*112 (number), the natural ...
, which originates in
Bazhou as it is a ring road around
Jingjinji.
* Highways in the 200 series stretch from north to south (e.g., from
Hohhot
Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...
in
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
through to
Beihai
Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internation ...
in
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
province);
* Highways in the 300 series stretch from east to west (e.g., from
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
through to
Ruili in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province);
* Highways in the 500, 600 and 700 series are connecting roads between other national highways.
In major cities, there is usually a gap in the road within the city.
List of all China National Highways
Highways listed in are under construction or still in planning. Those listed in are currently partially finished. Those listed in were planned but never built, or have been abandoned or redesignated.
Former 000 Series
Note: 000 Series China National Highways pointed to five specific vertical routes, as well as seven specific horizontal routes. Routes ending in "0" were north–south (vertical) routes; routes ending in "5" were east–west (horizontal) routes. The new system with two to four numbers that indicate the
"NTHS" (7918) system is now in use instead of the 000 Series. For the expressways named under the new numbering system, see
Expressways of China
The expressway network of China, with the national-level expressway system officially known as the National Trunk Highway System (; abbreviated as NTHS), is an integrated system of national and provincial-level expressways in China.Li, Si-ming ...
.
It seems that the old 0xx numbers are still signposted using the format GZXX, e.g. in the Qinghai province, there are signs at the G109 (old G025) showing the number GZ25.
100 Series
200 Series
300 Series
500 Series
600-700 Series
See also
*
Expressways of China
The expressway network of China, with the national-level expressway system officially known as the National Trunk Highway System (; abbreviated as NTHS), is an integrated system of national and provincial-level expressways in China.Li, Si-ming ...
*
Transport in China
Transport in China has experienced major growth and expansion in recent years. Although China's transport system comprises a vast network of transport nodes across its huge territory, the nodes tend to concentrate in the more economically devel ...
*
Tarim Desert Highway 200px, Vegetation on either side of the highway to prevent shifting sand dunes from covering it, as well as a blue pump house in the distance. 200px, PetroChina gas station on the highway route
The Tarim Desert Highway (), also known as the Cross- ...
*
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...
References
External links
Ministry of Transport
China Highway & Transportation SocietyChina Highway Network
{{China National Highways
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
Highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
Highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...