China is a country with a vast territory and a large population, with a set of diverse natural and socio-economic conditions, so the role of transport here is especially significant.
Transport infrastructure began to develop massively only in the middle of the 20th century, and at the beginning of the 21st century, China has already become a leader in the world in the field of transport. Moreover, the construction of roads, railways, airports significantly increased employment.
It is hard to believe that as early as the beginning of the 20th century in the north of China, camel caravans played an important role as transport links between Beijing and Mongolia. The transport of China, its types and features will be discussed in the article.
Briefly about the transport of China
There is a right-hand traffic in the country. A feature of public transport is excessive congestion, in large cities there is a subway, buses, trolleybuses.
Taxi is the most convenient and comfortable way to travel for short distances and around the city. The tariff is usually written by the drivers themselves and attached to the windshield.
There are also fixed-route taxis (minibuses), which mainly go along routes where there is an accumulation of tourists.
Short distances can be traveled by bicycle or rickshaw; the fare depends on the passenger’s weight and distance.
In general, China's transport is very developed, both traditional and modern types are presented.
Railway transport
The country’s territory is covered by a dense network of railways; a train ticket is usually cheaper than a plane ticket, which is very convenient for tourists. Rail transport is divided into the following categories:
- direct trains - these are international trains, China and Russia connect such railway transport, China and Mongolia;
- fast trains;
- high-speed;
- express trains;
- tourist, they can get to major cities.
For long trips this is the most popular form of transport. In China, all railway companies are subordinate to the Ministry of Transport. The country ranks 2nd in the world in terms of the length of the road network, second only to the United States. The network covers almost all provinces. Currently, a system of high-speed movement is being developed.
All cars are divided into 4 types:
- sedentary hard and soft;
- lying hard and soft.
Moreover, the price difference is quite significant, the latter type in the country is considered a luxury.
Sell tickets that are valid only for a particular train. Each adult can carry one child with him up to 110 cm tall, with no space, if the child is up to 140 cm tall - the cost of his ticket will be 50% of the total cost, above 140 cm - at the full rate.
For guests of the country there are separate ticket offices where you can buy a ticket without a queue and crowding.
In China, you cannot buy a round-trip ticket, only to the destination station in one direction.
If you need to return a ticket, then it will be accepted and the full price will be returned.
The only inconvenience is that ticket prices are constantly changing.
Metro
Construction of metro lines in the Republic of China began in 1965. The first line was launched in Beijing, its length was 24 kilometers. By 1980, the country had a subway in only two cities, and currently the number of subways has increased to 25, with Shanghai and Beijing metro stations being the largest in the world. It is planned to increase the number of cities with this underground transport to 60.
Automobile transport
The total length of roads is more than 4 million kilometers, over 60 years this figure has grown 50 times. It should be noted that China has become a full-fledged leader in the automotive industry, more than 20 million cars are produced annually in the country, more than Japan and the United States produce together.
China's road transport is not very popular. Not always and not in all places can be reached by car, in addition, it is expensive and very slow due to traffic jams.
If tourists decide to rent a car, this is not at all easy. This requires a driver’s license (Chinese) and pay a deposit and insurance premium.
It is much easier and less problematic to rent a car with a driver, the cost of such a service starts at $ 100 per day.
Air transport
The country has 19 international airports and more than 130 airfields. The largest airport is in Beijing. China is connected by air routes with 130 countries of the world, about 900 domestic routes. The largest density of airlines in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai.
Domestic airlines are very popular, despite the fact that the tariffs are quite high. If you are late for the plane, the company will certainly land the passenger the next flight for free.
Water transport
China's maritime transport is very developed, more than 2 thousand ports, with 130 of them international. The main seaports: Shanghai, Yantai, Tianjin-Xingang, Qingdao, Guangzhou-Huangpu, Dalian, Beihai, Xiangang, Qinhuangdao.
The length of rivers, canals and lakes is approximately 140 thousand kilometers.
Pipelines
The length of China's gas pipelines is 22.5 thousand kilometers, oil pipelines - 15 thousand kilometers, pipelines for petroleum products - 6 thousand kilometers.
Popular public transportation in China
Public transport in the country is very well developed and is the most budgetary in the world. This is the metro, taxi, bus. Rickshaws are still popular, but traveling on such an exotic form of transport in China can be quite expensive. So what are the most popular types of public transport in the country?
1. Water transport, whose services are very popular in the country, but are mainly distributed in coastal areas. Some islands can only be reached by boat. There is also a ferry service, which saves time and effort that would be expended in covering the distance by land mode of transport.
The most popular river cruise is along the Yangtze River. There are inland waterway flights.
A whole fleet of different vessels is available in Hong Kong.
Ferry or river cruise tickets can be bought at ferry terminals, as well as at travel agencies.
2. Hitchhiking to travel, as in any other country, is not entirely safe. Do not drive into suspicious drivers, or travel alone.
It is rarely delivered free of charge, so before you get in the car, you should resolve the issue of price.
The positive side of this trip is that you can get anywhere in the country and communicate closely with local residents.
3. Trams and buses are one of the best and safest ways to get around the country. If you ask Chinese citizens: “How to get to a city or another settlement by public transport?”, They will unequivocally answer: “By bus.” There are a huge number of routes, new motorways are being built, the quality of roads is growing all the time, buses very often move faster than trains, and tickets for them are somewhat cheaper. Moving along the route, buses stop in small towns, so there is the opportunity to walk around the area and visit the amazing places of the country.
It is more convenient to travel by bus between small cities, in addition, they are very comfortable and convenient, equipped with a TV and toilet.
Buses are the most common means of transportation in cities. The only problem is that they are always crowded with passengers. The schedule of routes at stops is written only in the state language, so many tourists have difficulty orienteering. In large cities, there is a service of private minibuses that follow the same routes as public ones, but they are more comfortable and cost a little more.
4. Cars and motorbikes - the Chinese are very fond of these modes of transport, but rarely use them on weekdays. The reason for this is traffic jams, which are especially large in large cities.
It is problematic for tourists to rent a car, as this will require a residence permit and a Chinese driver’s license (international ones are not recognized here). If it is very necessary to rent a car, it is easier to do this together with the driver, you can order such a service at a hotel or at a travel agency.
5. Chinese trains - the most popular form of public transport, it is a leader in speed and comfort of travel, a high rate and safety. They are punctual and always move along the route.
Train tickets are sold only one way, you can buy them only for cash. On the day of the trip, buying a ticket is quite problematic, so you should plan this in advance. In large cities, you should book tickets 3-5 days before the trip.
6. Bicycles - a common form of transportation around the cities of China, given the high quality of roads, cycling is a pleasure and a huge number of advantages. But it’s hard enough to find helmets in the country. On the main roads of the country and motorways, cycling is prohibited.
It is easy to rent this type of transport in the country, in hotels, bike centers, tourist centers offer such services. The rental price is not high, but everywhere else you need to make a deposit.
Useful information about local transport
Public transport covers a huge number of routes in the country, but it is always crowded and the transport network is very confusing. It is almost impossible for foreigners to rent a car, and a bicycle is not always practical.
And if the city is large, then you still cannot do without public transport services. The metro comes to the rescue, which is more convenient and faster to travel, but the metro is only available in such cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Nanjing. At a high level, a public transport network is organized in Hong Kong, followed by a network in Beijing, and is also popular in Shanghai.
A feature of transport is a huge number of dilapidated vehicles on the roads. In addition, there are rickshaws - these are tricycles that are equipped with a motorcycle engine, their largest concentration is near the stations in large cities.
The speed of cars in China is about 50 kilometers per hour, but even at this speed, local drivers manage to overtake each other and trim.
The roads in large cities are crowded, while cars on the road are not the worst, in the country there are a huge number of scooters, bicycles, the drivers of which completely disregard the rules of the road.
Instead of output
Recently, the country is at the stage of global change in its transport infrastructure. Ports are being reconstructed, airports, new highways and high-speed rail lines are being built. The priority direction of the state is caused by the problem of traffic congestion, which can be solved only if all possible types of transport of the country are used.