West_2nd_Ring_Road_south_of_Xizhimen_(20180804181157)

The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

highway which encircles the city center of

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 ...

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 ...

. (The first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original ring road (the southern section of which is now excluded from the current ring road), and the newly extended ring road. This article only covers the current (new) 2nd Ring Road.

History and geography

Dongzhimen Bridge from northwest (20200813172034)

The 2nd Ring Road runs close to where Beijing's city walls once stood; numerous junctions bear the old city gate's name. A small number of these city gates themselves still stand:

Southeast corner tower The Beijing Ming City Wall Ruins Park () is a park in Beijing with the longest and best preserved section of the city's Ming Dynasty city wall. The park is located from the city center and extends east from Chongwenmen to Dongbianmen and then n ...

, Deshengmen and

Yongdingmen Yongdingmen (), literally meaning “Gate of Perpetual Peace”, was the former front gate of the outer city of Beijing's old city wall. Originally built in 1553 during Ming Dynasty, it was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the new road syst ...

(which has been rebuilt). Most of the old city walls were pulled down shortly after the

was established in 1949. Although it was suggested that the 2nd Ring Road was built over the old city walls, by comparing current city maps with old maps of Beijing, it has been found this is not exactly true. The road instead mostly follows the former moat that surrounded the city wall; in places, the moat survives as a canal. The 2nd ring road was completed in the 1980s. All traffic lights were removed in the 1990s, and several new overpasses were built. In 2001, the 2nd Ring Road was overhauled. It was fully re-surfaced, and greenery substantially increased. Much of

Line 2 Line 2 or 2 Line may refer to: Public transport Americas *2 (New York City Subway service), a rapid transit service in the A Division of the New York City Subway *2 Line (Sound Transit), a light rail line in Seattle, Washington *Line 2 Bloor–Dan ...

of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...

runs underneath the Second Ring Road. Many stations have exits on both sides of the road, with the exception of Andingmen.

The Old 2nd Ring Road

The former "old 2nd Ring Road" has an elliptical shape. Its northwest corner is at Xizhimen, the northeast corner is at

Dongzhimen Dongzhimen (; lit. "East Straight Gate") was a gate in the old Beijing city fortifications. It is now a commercial center and transportation node in Beijing. Latimer D. (2014) ''The Improbable Beijing Guidebook'', Sinomaps, Beijing, , p.69 Histor ...

, and southern corners are at Dongbianmen and Xibianmen. The southern side is the so-called "Metro Road" which goes through Qianmen, at the southern end of Tian'anmen Square.

The New 2nd Ring Road

The new road is simply an extension of the western and eastern parts of the original 2nd Ring Road. It extends beyond Dongbianmen and Xibianmen, thus reaching Zuo'anmen to the southeast and the Caihuying overpass complex in the southwest. The extensions were known for a while as the ''external 2nd Ring Road'', though this term is becoming more and more unpopular.

Gates and the 2nd Ring Road

The 2nd Ring Road passes the sites of many of the old city gates around Beijing. These include: * Deshengmen * Andingmen *

* Chaoyangmen * Guangqumen * Zuo'anmen *

* You'anmen * Guang'anmen * Fuchengmen * Xizhimen Only Deshengmen and Yongdingmen (rebuilt 2005) still stand; the others were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s. Gates through which the former Inner 2nd Ring Road ("Metro Road") passes are: *

Chongwenmen Chongwenmen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: šu be wesihulere duka) was a gate that was part of Beijing's city wall in what is now Dongcheng District. The gate stood in the southeastern part of Beijing's inner city, immediately south of the old Beij ...

Zhengyangmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, literally meaning "Gate of the Zenith Sun"), a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guar ...

* Xuanwumen Only

is still standing today.

Road conditions

Surface conditions

After completion in the 1980s, the design of the 2nd Ring Road was sufficient for its traffic load. However, as utilization increased in the late 20th century, the road surface rapidly deteriorated. Prior to 2001, the road gave motorists an uncomfortable bumpy ride. Since the total resurfacing, driving on the road has been much more pleasant. Partial resurfacing work is ongoing.

Central location

Located in the heart of the city, the 2nd Ring Road is also a transportation

bottleneck Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids ...

. Traffic jams are common, and it is hard to find immediate alternative routes as the 2nd Ring has few direct links to expressways. For cars and larger vehicles, there is no way to cross the 2nd Ring Road except at full junctions, or by making a U-turn under an overpass; pedestrians, cycles and motorcycles can make use of pedestrian overpasses. The speed limit is 80 km/ h except for sharply turning sections such as between Xiaojie Bridge and Dongzhimen. Speed checks are very frequent and cameras are often operating, some of the locations of these are known, while some are hidden beneath bridges or behind screens.

Traffic jams

Traffic jams on the 2nd Ring Road have become a part of daily life. Nevertheless, their intensity varies. The northern stretch between '' Andingmen'' and ''Xiaojie Bridge'' is often jammed, particularly in the lead to the turn-off for the Airport Expressway. The same goes for part of the road around '' Deshengmen'' and all of the western side. The entire eastern side is frequently jammed due to its proximity to the Beijing CBD. Less frequently jammed traffic can be found on the southern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road from ''

Caihuying Caihuying () is an overpass complex in southwestern urban 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 ...

'' through '' Zuo'anmen''. While the 2nd Ring Road is often congested, unlike the 3rd Ring Road, it is never gridlocked. The 3rd Ring Road uses

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

s, which includes traffic lights. These interchanges back up traffic and causes gridlock. The 2nd Ring Road instead employs mostly

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

s, which allows traffic to flow freely and without traffic lights, therefore eliminating traffic back up.

Road condition monitors

Electronic message signs (or screens) are placed throughout the 2nd Ring Road, displaying information about current traffic. The information is only given in

simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters used in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, as prescribed by the ''Table of General Standard Chinese Characters''. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one o ...

at present. The western part of the 2nd Ring Road has "smart" electronic screens, automatically updated every five minutes. Traffic conditions are continuously monitored. Maps are also shown on them to notify drivers of road conditions at various parts of the road, including Jishuitan, Xizhimen, and Fuxingmen on the

Chang'an Avenue 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are 1999 National Day parade.">50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China">1999 National Day parade. Chang'an Avenue (), literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major thoroughfare in ...

. Although only Chinese characters are used, the characters themselves are coloured red, yellow or green according to the type of message. This and the map displays make it somewhat easier for non-Chinese speakers to understand.

Links to expressways

The Badaling Expressway is linked to (from the side road) at Deshengmen. A direct ramp connection from both directions to the Airport Expressway was finished in 2006. The Jingkai Expressway is easily accessible by proceeding south to the complex-and-impressive

overpass. There are no direct connections from the 2nd Ring Road to the

Jingshen Expressway Jingshen Seafood Market or Chingshen Seafood Market (JSM; ) is a marketplace in the Fengtai district of Beijing. Synopsis As with other marketplaces in China, wholesale and retail trade are both seen here, as well as restaurants. Jingshen is the ...

, Jingjintang Expressway, or

Jingcheng Expressway Jingcheng may refer to: *Xu Jingcheng (許景澄) (1845–1900), Qing Dynasty diplomat *Jingcheng (竟成), a pseudonym of educator Kong Zhaoshou *Jingcheng, a name for Beijing's inner city * Jingcheng, Nanjing County, Zhangzhou (靖城镇), a town ...

. It is possible to get to the

Jingshi Expressway "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

by heading southwest at Guang'anmen. Jianguomen links via

Jianguomen Outer Street Jianguomen Outer Street, also transliterated as Jianguomen Wai Avenue () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. It runs from Jianguomen Bridge in the west through to Guomao on the east. It runs thro ...

to the

Jingtong Expressway Jingtong () is a locale in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Originally a coal mining town, today it is known mostly for tourism, with numerous souvenir shops and exhibits on the history of the area and the coal mining industry. Tourist ...

and ultimately the

Jingha Expressway Jingha may refer to: * Jingha Expressway, expressway in China that links Beijing to Harbin *Jingha railway Jingha may refer to: * Jingha Expressway, expressway in China that links Beijing to Harbin * Jingha railway, railway in China that connects ...

List of exits

eading in a clockwise direction as of the Northern 2nd Ring Road Notes: * Exits present only in a clockwise direction are indicated by the symbol ↩; anticlockwise only, ↪; not yet open, ✕ * Exit sign symbols: ↗ = exit (✕ = unopened)

North 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ Beitaipingzhuang, Xinjiekou (Jishuitan Bridge) * ↗ Madian ''-- connects to direct road to Badaling Expressway'' ( Deshengmen Bridge) * ↗ Anhua Bridge ( Gulou Bridge, Zhonglou North Bridge) * ↗ Jiangzhaikou ( Andingmen Bridge) * ↗

Yonghegong The Yonghe Temple (, "Palace of Peace and Harmony"), also known as the Yonghe Lamasery, or popularly as the Lama Temple, is a temple and monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism located on 12 Yonghegong Street, Dongcheng District, Beij ...

, Beixinqiao (

Bridge) * ↗ Hepingli (Xiaojie Bridge) * ↗ Airport Expressway

East 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ Nongzhan Bridge, Beixinqiao (

Bridge) * ↗

Changhong Bridge Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd., doing business as Changhong () domestically and CHiQ internationally, is a Chinese consumer electronics company based in Mianyang, Sichuan, founded in October 1958. It is the second-largest manufacturer of t ...

, Kuanjie (

Dongsishitiao Dongsi Shitiao station (), is a station on Line 2 of the Beijing Subway. Name Dongsi Subdistrict is an area in the northeastern side of the old town of Beijing. ''Hutongs'' are sorted numerically from south to north, and are called "tiao" in lo ...

Bridge) * ↗ Dongdaqiao ( Chaoyangmen Bridge) * ↗ Dongdan, Guomao Bridge (Jianguomen Bridge) * ↗ ( Dongbianmen Bridge) * ↗ ( Guangqumen Bridge) * ↗

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties for ...

( Guangming Bridge)

South 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ ( Zuo'anmen Bridge) * ↗

( Puhuangyu/ Yuting Bridge) * ↗ ( Jingtai Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗ ( Taoran Bridge) * ↗ ( Kaiyang Bridge) * ↗ ( You'anmen Bridge) * ↗ Jingkai Expressway, Lize Bridge (

Bridge)

West 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ ( Baizhifang Bridge) * ↗ ( Guang'anmen Bridge) * ↗ ( Tianningsi Bridge, Xibianmen Bridge) * ↗ ( Fuxingmen Bridge) * ↗ (

Yuetan The Temple of the Moon (Chinese: 月坛/月壇, Pinyin: Yuètán) is an altar located in Fuchengmen, Xicheng District, in western Beijing, China. The altar was built in 1530 during the Ming Dynasty for use in ritual sacrifice to the Moon by the Em ...

South Bridge,

North Bridge) * ↗ ( Fuchengmen Bridge) * ↗ ( Guanyuan Bridge) * ↗ ( Xizhimen Bridge)

References

{{coord, 39, 53, 53, N, 116, 23, 12, E, region:CN-11_type:landmark, display=title Road transport in Beijing Ring roads in China