Sustainable Development of Transport in China

Panel 3 The Transit Metropolis Project

Public transit is the top priority of urban transport development. In 2012, China initiated a transit metropolis demonstration project, ratifying 87 cities in three batches to launch the project. By the end of 2019, 14 cities were classified as national transit metropolis models. The public transport service system with transit metropolises as the benchmark has promoted the healthy and sustainable development of urban transport and created a significant impact on the urban economy.

Ensuring equal access to basic public services. To promote social harmony, the Chinese government is committed to ensuring equal access to public transport services. Low-fare low-speed trains in remote areas which stop at every small station and have a similar function to buses, serve as a bridge between mountainous villages and cities. These trains provide a convenient public welfare service to people along the line and facilitate their efforts towards a better life.

The nationwide expansion of highway passenger transport and rural logistics has helped to integrate rural and urban areas. By the end of 2019, integration of rural and urban transport had been piloted in 52 counties; 95 percent of urban districts and counties nationwide had achieved AAA ratings in urban-rural transport integration, and 79 percent had achieved AAAA ratings.

Accessible transport provides convenience for people with disabilities, and barrier-free access has been implemented at public transport hubs including train stations, highway service areas, passenger ship terminals, airports, and postal outlets. Further measures are being implemented to provide universal services and help people share in the fruits of transport development.

Panel 4 Accessible Transport

An accessible environment is a prerequisite for people with disabilities to engage in social life on an equal basis, and an important indicator of social progress. China is developing and improving its transport infrastructure to create an accessible travel environment offering full coverage, seamless connection, and safe and comfortable facilities.

Full provision of accessible facilities has been achieved in the passenger transport sector in many provinces. Accessible passenger vehicles have been introduced across the country. More than 3,400 EMU (electric multiple unit) trains provide priority seating for people with disabilities. Courtesy seating is reserved on public transport. Low-floor buses and barrierfree taxis are in use. LCD displays and audible stop announcement systems are provided on city buses. Postal offices provide door-to-door delivery services to people with severe disabilities, text messaging services to people with hearing impairments, and deliver publications in Braille for free.

An accessible environment in the transport sector enables people with disabilities to get out of their home and fully engage in social life.

Encouraging new models and forms of business in transport. Internet Plus models in transport are having a profound impact on the way people travel. By the end of 2019, more than 400 cities across the country had online car-hailing services, with daily usage averaging 20 million trips. Bike-sharing has effectively bridged the last kilometer in urban travel, with daily usage averaging more than 45.7 million trips.

The penetration of Internet Plus into freight logistics is accelerating, and inspiring organizational innovations. The 95306 online platform for railway freight services was put in place. In 2019, the online rail freight service handling rate rose to 85 percent. 229 non-truck operating common carriers integrated 2.11 million freight vehicles, improving the utilization rate by 50 percent, lowering the freight transaction cost by six to eight percentage points compared with traditional ways. The integration of the internet and high-speed railway network has seen remarkable results. In 2019, a total of 3.57 billion tickets were sold on 12306.cn, China's official website for booking train tickets. Electronic tickets can be bought at almost all railway stations. China is on the way to achieving full WIFI coverage in high-speed trains and stations. It has also made innovations to roll out services such as online meal booking, wireless charging and intelligent interaction.

By the end of 2019, over 98 percent of the bus terminals at the county level and above offer province-side online ticket booking services. The new online and offline forms of passenger transport such as car-hailing, bike-sharing, and car-sharing services, and new forms of business such as facial recognition check-in at railway stations, paperless boarding at airports, drone delivery, contactless delivery, intelligent parking, and customized passenger transport services have brought convenience to people and injected fresh momentum to economic growth.

Supporting major strategies for regional development. China has strengthened the transport configuration to support and serve the strategy to coordinate the development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other regions. The country has accelerated to build multi-junction transport matrices for world-class city clusters, and a first-class comprehensive transport system in the Xiong'an New Area. Efficient connections between trunk, intercity, suburban and urban rail have been achieved, with a focus on facilitating Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration.

In its efforts to systematically manage major waterways, China has mitigated the traffic bottleneck along the Three Gorges Dam, improved the function of the Yangtze River as the golden waterway, and endeavored to build a transport corridor along the Yangtze River Economic Belt. To create a modern and comprehensive transport network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the country has opened up transport corridors in the east, west and north of Guangdong connecting the Greater Bay Area with surrounding provinces and regions, and aimed to build an international overland transport corridor linking the pan-Pearl River Delta with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

To support the Hainan Free Trade Port, China has built a multi-junction, province-wide transport matrix of railways, intercity rail, and main highways in Hainan, focusing on the Haikou-Chengmai-Wenchang Economic Integration Circle and the Greater Sanya Tourism Economic Circle. To promote better and integrated transport in the Yangtze River Delta, the country has built a multilevel, well-connected transport network with Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Ningbo as the junctions.

In line with the need for eco-environmental conservation and territorial space development in the Yellow River Basin, China has coordinated the development of the transport corridors, hubs and network in the river basin. Targeted transport measures in various regions have been designed to support their respective strategies.

3. Moving from Follower to Leader in Transport Technology

China's capacity for innovation in transport has strengthened－it possesses self-developed core technologies, and has made major breakthroughs in transport infrastructure and equipment. Capacity for sustainable development is growing. China is making steady progress from a follower to a leader in transport technology.

World-leading mega-projects. China leads the world in technology for railways at high altitudes and in extremely low temperatures, and for high-speed and heavy-haul railways. It has solved the most challenging technical problems confronting highway construction in difficult geological conditions such as plateau permafrost, expansive soil, and desert. It also leads in core technologies for building deep-water offshore ports, improving massive estuary and long waterways, and building large airports.

The Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, the longest high-speed rail line in the world, has been completed. The Lanzhou-Urumqi High-speed Railway has the world's longest line that has been built at one go. The Harbin-Dalian High-speed Railway, the world's first high-speed rail line operating at low temperatures in winter is open to traffic. The Datong-Qinhuangdao Heavy-haul Railway ranks top in the world in terms of annual transport volume. The Xueshan No. 1 Tunnel, the world's highest of its kind, built in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, has been opened to traffic. The section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway between Ya'an and Nyingchi is under construction.

Other notable mega-projects include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Xi'an-Chengdu High-speed Rail cutting through the Qinling Mountains, the container terminal at Yangshan Port, the automated container terminal at Qingdao Port, and the deep-water channel improvement project in the Yangtze River Estuary.

China leads the world in the total length and number of highway bridges and tunnels in service and under construction. It has seven of the ten longest cable-stayed bridges, six of the ten longest suspension bridges, six of the ten longest crosssea bridges, and eight of the ten highest bridges in the world.

Panel 5 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

The 55-km-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge entered service on October 23, 2018. This sea-crossing mega-project is a joint project between Hong Kong SAR in the east and Zhuhai and Macao SAR in the west, and links all three. The bridge is making a significant contribution to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In the course of construction, the most challenging technical obstacles were overcome, such as the rapid creation of artificial islands, the design of an undersea tube tunnel, and the composite coating of the tunnel. The bridge is the largest and most technologically complex transport project in China, and it has set many world records. It embodies China's national strength, capacity for independent innovation, and national aspiration to strive for world-class standards. It represents the Chinese people's dreams, solidarity, confidence, and path to rejuvenation.

Major breakthroughs in transport equipment technology. Aiming to develop cutting-edge core technologies, China has substantially improved the level of its independent research in key transport equipment technology. China has set a world record by successfully testing its self-developed Fuxing EMU trains running at 420 km/h in intersection and coupled operations. The Fuxing EMUs have been running at 350 km/h－the highest operating speed in the world－on the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Rail, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Rail. China became the first in the world to realize autopilot on trains running at a speed of 350 km/h. 600 km/h prototype maglev trains and high-speed free gauge trains running at a speed of 400 km/h that can change tracks and are capable of making international trips have rolled off the production line.

Major breakthroughs have been achieved in tunneling technology-earth pressure balance, hard rock, and slurry shield machines with the world's largest operating diameters have been developed. The fuel-efficient and new energy vehicle industry is prospering, keeping abreast of the latest international advances. The manufacturing technologies for special marine engineering machinery vessels and complete sets of large automated and specialized container handling equipment rank top in the world. China has also made innovative breakthroughs in 300-meter saturation diving. The C919 large passenger aircraft has made its maiden flight. The ARJ21 regional jet is now in commercial service.

The sorting technology in express delivery is developing rapidly. China leads the world in building ocean-going vessels, high-speed EMU trains, high-power locomotives, and marine engineering machinery. Its burgeoning equipment technology in large aircraft and new-generation intelligent connected vehicles is on the way to becoming a major international calling card for China's manufacturing.