10 | May 1­2, 2021 CHINA DAILY HOLIDAYTRAVEL Road to success lies on PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS A boon for a bed of innovation homestay business By CAO CHEN in Shanghai cles, improving safety. [email protected] The team, for the first time, recy­ By YANG CHENG in Tianjin cled fly ash, a kind of coal­fired [email protected] Since the Hujia Expressway power plant waste, and replaced opened to traffic in October 1988, soil with it to fill the road base, Zhou Yunlong, a native of Xijing­ road travel in and around Shang­ which turned to be an environ­ yu village, in the Jizhou district of hai has been transformed, one of mentally friendly approach. The Tianjin, is delighted to see that his the biggest changes being the time innovation was awarded first prize first­year business revenue from the saved to travelers. in the Shanghai Municipal Science homestay he runs in his village The expressway, from Shanghai and Technology Progress Awards reached 200,000 yuan ($30,500) to its satellite town of Jiading, was in 1989. amid the pandemic last year. the first national highway project The project also produced the He chose to quit working in large in the Chinese mainland, and its first traffic, road conditions and cities and return to his hometown to 15.9 kilometers reflects the coun­ emergency monitoring room for start up the homestay businesses in try’s relentless efforts to improve expressways in the Chinese main­ 2019, eyeing the booming tourism its transport. land. sector in his previously secluded The country is now home to the “The expressway accelerated and much less known mountainous world’s longest expressway net­ the development of Shanghai’s village. work, spanning 160,000 km, said economy, including tourism,” Zhou said the upgraded express­ Wang Songbo, deputy director of Zhang said. “More factories and way, the Tianjin­Jizhou Expressway, the comprehensive planning companies were attracted to the as well as the growing expressway department of the Ministry of city, investing money in the area network has benefited the village, Transport. and setting up branches here.” where a number of homestays in dif­ However, Zhang Kuihong, 79, The highway also helped facili­ ferent styles have been opened, deputy chief engineer of the Hujia tate the establishment of an The Beijing­Shanghai Expressway is a major national expressway, linking Beijing in the north to attracting visitors from around the Expressway, said there was resist­ industrial park in Taopu town Shanghai on the central coast. WU KAI / XINHUA country. ance before work began on the and an ancient town for tourism, The Tianjin­Jizhou Expressway, expressway. Nanxiang, as well as the develop­ touted as one of the most beautiful ment of Jiading, he said. suburban expressways in China, Expressways connecting Shang­ connects the remote rocky and hai with more regions were built, bumpy village more than 100 kilo­ and the total length of highways in Artery that provides meters from downtown Tianjin. The expressway the city reached 12,916.6 km last The village is typical of Jizhou accelerated the year, compared with 1,978 km in district, which closely neighbors 1978. Beijing, but is in fact far from cen­ development of Expressway traffic is of course tral Tianjin. Shanghai’s much heavier than it once was, an During the Tomb Sweeping Day average of 4,000 vehicles a day in an economic lifeline holiday in early April, the district, economy, including 1988 compared with about 1.5 mil­ benefitting from the ever­expand­ tourism.” lion a day on the city­wide road ing expressway network, had reve­ network last year. Hundreds of The Beijing-Shanghai sale. Using the G2, the trucks will nue of 8.3 million yuan, 435 percent Zhang Kuihong, deputy chief It takes vehicles no more than 15 Expressway arrive in Beijing about three hours higher than last year. engineer of the Hujia minutes to enter the road network millions count on later. Their freshness means better The expressway eventually con­ Expressway project from any local industrial area, the G2 to give Beijing returns for farmers, a report by nects the two areas with the Beijing­ transport hub and passenger and Tianjin Economic Daily said. Shanghai Expressway, an artery for “Building it was essential in the cargo distribution center in them work, food “G2 is a road toward wealth for the country. 1980s. The domestic economy was Shanghai. Jinan us,” Zhu said. “We used to sell our In addition, “the whole city’s starting to boom after reform and In March local government and a lot more vegetables in nearby markets only, expressway network is crucial to the opening­up began in 1978, and pledged to introduce new policies so we couldn’t make that much steady economic growth for the products such as chicken, fish and this year to build five of its subur­ By DU JUAN money. The G2 helps us to get our North China municipality”, said Liu shrimp needed to be transported ban districts, including Jiading, [email protected] products to Beijing, a much better Daogang, director of Tianjin Munic­ from the suburbs to Shanghai’s into independent and compre­ market.” ipal Transport Commission. downtown area by road. hensive node cities that drive the Zuo Peng, who lives in Langfang, Nanjing Because of the convenient trans­ With a total length of 1,330 km, “Some people felt the cost was growth of Shanghai and the Yang­ Hebei province, drives to Beijing to Shanghai port from Beijing to Tianjin, col­ Tianjin ranks No 2 in China in the just too high, and others argued tze River Delta by 2035. work, spending about 30 minutes TOTAL LENGTH: 1,218 km laboration between the two cities expressway network density, just that it would be pointless to build Tang Zhiping, vice­mayor of on the Beijing­Shanghai Express­ CHINA DAILY is growing. In the past seven years, after Shanghai, he said. an expressway because the coun­ Shanghai, said policies will cover way, commonly called the G2, more than 1,000 projects from Bei­ Another example of the econom­ try’s automotive industry was talent acquisition, land plan­ every workday. jing have been set up in Wuqing, ic takeoff brought by the express­ then underdeveloped.” ning, tax and fiscal incentives, “The G2 has become an indis­ with total investment of more than way network linking the Beijing­ Following extensive research, and the business environment to pensable friend to me since I 50 billion yuan. Shanghai Expressway is the the government backed the Hujia support the development of new bought an apartment in Langfang The G2 helps us to “Wuqing has been working on Beijing­Tianjin­Tanggu Express­ Expressway pilot project, and con­ cities. in 2013, ending my renting life in get our products to building platforms on research, way. struction began in 1984. Three transport circles will also Beijing,” he said. “The expressway manufacturing, marketing and The expressway was the country’s Invaluable experience was be built to facilitate travel within has helped me keep my job in Bei­ Beijing, a much financing sectors for the commer­ first transport project built to inter­ gained through the project. The the cities and to surrounding jing while buying an apartment better market.” cialization of scientific findings in national standards, reaching 11 construction team found the use towns and cities of neighboring with my wife and children.” Beijing,” said Zhang Weiqi, head of emerging development areas in Bei­ of crushed basalt, a dark­col­ provinces. Like Zuo, many young people Zhu Fujie, a manager of an the science and technology bureau jing, Tianjin and Hebei province. ored, igneous rock, in road base “I feel so proud to have been who cannot afford an apartment in agricultural company in the of Wuqing district. With the Beijing­Tianjin Express­ construction could increase fric­ able to witness the highway’s Beijing have chosen Langfang, on Wuqing district of Tianjin The G2 has become an impor­ way and the Beijing­Taipei Express­ tion between the road and vehi­ achievements,” Zhang said. the capital’s outskirts, to settle tant framework of Beijing­Tianjin­ way it has facilitated logistics to down. The G2 has made it a reality Hebei integrated development. North China’s largest port as well as for them to lead a two­city life. ing Beijing and Tianjin, was Along the expressway are 11 one of the world’s top 10 ports in car­ China now has the world’s larg­ opened in 1991. modern zones such as economic go volume, Tianjin Port. est expressway network, stretching At the very beginning there were and science technology zones and Last year the port, which con­ 160,000 kilometers, long enough just 153 km of expressways in six bonded zones. The G2 and two nects to about 800 ports in more to circle the Earth four times. municipalities and provinces along other expressways, Beijing­Tianjin than 200 countries and regions, Those expressways have made the road. Now, it has formed an and Beijing­Taipei, have helped logged record container throughput people happier and wealthier and expressway network of more than make transport between Beijing of 18.35 million TEUs (twenty­foot promoted regional economic 20,000 km in total in these areas. and Tianjin port, the biggest com­ equivalent units), up 6.1 percent growth along the roads. The overall economic output of prehensive port in North China, year­on­year. The G2, 1,218 km long, links those six municipalities and pro­ much more efficient. Tianjin Port has an ambitious tar­ Beijing and the country’s eco­ vinces, a mere 3 trillion yuan ($459 Up to 70 percent of the cargo get for handling capacity: It wants nomic center, Shanghai, running billion) in 2000, was 10 times that arriving at the port is from Beijing, to see a rise to 30 million TEUs by through Tianjin municipality and sum at the end of last year, accord­ Hebei and Tianjin, which has 2028. Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu ing to government figures. boosted regional economic The expressway logistics play an provinces. It is a critical artery of At 2 am in the Wuqing district of growth. important role in revenue growth, the integrated economic develop­ Tianjin, Zhu Fujie, a manager of an Fast economic growth has in apart from waterways and trains. ment of the Beijing­Tianjin­Hebei agricultural company, takes stock turn generated demand for bigger “A three­hour expressway logis­ region and the Yangtze River Del­ of produce as it is loaded into two and better expressways. In the past tics circle in the Beijing­Tianjin­ ta region. trucks. 20 years many sections of the G2 Hebei area is taking shape and will The Hujia Expressway in Shanghai was the first national Construction began in Decem­ Those items, worth 90,000 yuan, have been expanded to six or eight drive solid synergic development in highway project in the Chinese mainland. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY ber 1987, and the first section, link­ will be transported to Beijing for lanes. the region,” Liu said. Transport nerve center brings the country together

By ZHAO RUIXUE Group, a major investor in Jinlan in Linyi, Shandong $11 276 logistics base. [email protected] billion million Every day more than 800 trucks are dispatched from the base, trans­ turnover from logistics at the packages delivered from Linyi In the information service center Jinlan logistics base last year to other places during the first porting goods to more than 2,000 at the Jinlan logistics base in Linyi, three months of the year cities and counties around China, Shandong province, information on the base said. logistics orders and cargo vehicles Turnover from logistics at the running in and out of the city, such nected with the Beijing­Shanghai Drivers in Linyi can enter the base rose from 26 billion yuan in as vehicles’ arrival and departure route. Beijing­Shanghai expressway from 2013 to 73 billion yuan ($11 billion) times, is updated in real time on a Zhang, who has been a long­dis­ three entrances in less than half an last year. big screen. The information is tance driver for more than 20 years, hour after leaving the logistics The developed logistics sector shared with logistics runners in said he is grateful for the express­ base. has made Linyi a major wholesale more than 2,000 cities around Chi­ ways that have not only made his “Two more entrances are being trade hub in China, and the city na. trip much safer but saved him a lot built less than a kilometer from the now has 87 wholesale markets in Outside the center, vehicles load­ of time. logistics base,” Zhang said. which more than 300,000 people Cargo being loaded in the Jinlan logistics base in Linyi, Shandong ed with goods line up to leave the “The expressway has cut my trav­ Linyi, close to the Beijing­Shang­ are doing business with various province. WANG JING / CHINA DAILY base through a gate one by one. el time by a third.” hai expressway and bordering commodities. Zhang Jifeng is among the busy This is partly attributable to Jiangsu province, has become a Major express service companies drivers. He is ready to drive his improved traffic conditions since major logistics hub connecting have set up branches in Linyi. number of delivered packages. However, the city’s international truck laden with food and small the expressway in Shandong prov­ northern and southern China. More than 276 million packages Unlike Yiwu in Zhejiang prov­ trade is expanding as it uses the Belt equipment including water meters ince was expanded to eight lanes The expressway has sped up local were delivered from Linyi to other ince, the world­renowned export and Road Initiative as an opportuni­ to several cities in Fujian province from the four lanes last year, he said. development by connecting the city places during the first three months capital for knickknacks, Linyi is ty to integrate into China’s new using the Beijing­Shanghai express­ “When it was four lanes there with the outside, said Wang Shiling, of the year, making the city the top more oriented toward the domestic development paradigm of dual cir­ way and another expressway con­ were often traffic jams.” Party secretary of Shandong Lantian among cities in Shandong in the market. culation, the city government said.