South_end_of_Guomao_Bridge_(20210311175037)

The 3rd Ring Road () is a -long city ring road that encircles the

city center A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. When Beijing first became the capital 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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the road existed only in segments encircling the northern, eastern, and southern parts of the city. At the time, its segments were known as Beihuan (North Ring), Donghuan (East Ring), and Nanhuan (South Ring), respectively. The 3rd Ring Road was finally finished in 1994 with the completion of the western segment. There are 52 flyovers, including Sanyuanqiao, which links it to the Airport Expressway. The speed limit is a uniform 80 km/h. The ring road runs through the busy CBD section in the east through Panjiayuan and Fenzhongsi, linking up with the

Jingjintang Expressway Jingjintang Expressway (), also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin. 143 kilometres in length, it crosses the jurisdictions of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei ...

. It continues south toward Muxiyuan and Yuquanying, linking up with the Jingkai Expressway. It then proceeds west, linking up with the Jingshi Expressway before running into the western segment, which is linked with the Wukesong residential area, TV broadcasting centers, and, in the northwest,

Zhongguancun Zhongguancun () is a major technology hub in Haidian District, Beijing, China. Zhongguancun occupies a band between the northwestern Third Ring Road and the northwestern Fourth Ring Road, in the northwestern part of Beijing. Zhongguancun is ...

IT zone. The northern segment is equally busy, running through Beitaipingzhuang, with links to the

Badaling Expressway The Badaling Expressway (Simplified Chinese: 八达岭高速公路, Traditional Chinese: 八達嶺高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Bādálíng Gāosù Gōnglù) is an expressway in China which links urban Beijing to the Badaling stretch of the Great ...

and the Jingcheng Expressway. Line 10 of the Beijing Subway has been constructed under the eastern segments of the 3rd Ring Road and was completed in 2008.

Traffic congestion

Shuangjing_from_the_south_(20201208112515)

The 3rd Ring Road is notorious for its

traffic jams Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

. The eastern segment, which runs through Beijing's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

(CBD), is regularly gridlocked during rush hour. The interchanges of this segment are modified

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, consisting of openings of the road barrier on the right that separates the main lanes from the frontage roads. These interchanges can often back up traffic since they cannot easily handle the huge traffic volumes of Beijing. The situation is often worsened by the bus stops that are located right adjacent to the exits.

Location

The 3rd Ring Road is from the

2nd Ring Road The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost ring road highway which encircles the city center of Beijing, People's Republic of China. (The first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original ring ...

and from the

. The 3rd Ring Road goes through mostly residential and some commercial areas (except for the CBD) that were created during Beijing's first wave of rapid expansion.

Surface conditions

Until 2003, the entire 3rd Ring Road was very bumpy, and trips were very unpleasant. Following the renovation of the

in 2001, a similar project was conducted in 2003 and the road surface has been much smoother since then.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Ring Road (Beijing) Road transport in Beijing Ring roads in China Zhongguancun