5th Ring Road (Beijing)
Encyclopedia
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
's 5th Ring Road (Simplified Chinese: 五环路, Traditional Chinese: 五環路, Hanyu Pinyin: Wǔ Huán Lù, China Road Numbering
China road numbering
Roads in the People's Republic of China are numbered G, S or X, and four different categories exist:-Non-expressways and non-express routes:...
: S001 (Beijing)) is a ring road encircling the city about 10 kilometres away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is 98 kilometres in length. Being a ring road, it has no natural start or end point, although the "0 km" mark is found near the northeastern stretch at Laiguangying, at the intersection with the Jingcheng Expressway
Jingcheng Expressway
The Jingcheng Motorway is a motorway in China which links Beijing to Chengde in Hebei province. The total length is 210 kilometres.It is a new motorway linking the northeastern portion of the 3rd Ring Road with the north and northeastern outlying regions of Beijing municipality...
. The expressway ring road is a provincial-level road in Beijing municipality.
All of Beijing's expressways, except for the Jingha Expressway
Jingha Expressway
The Beijing–Harbin Expressway , designated as G1 and commonly abbreviated as Jingha Expressway is an expressway in North and Northeast China linking Beijing to Harbin....
, are interlinked with the 5th Ring Road.
Portions of the expressway have a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h, with the remainder imposing a speed limit of 100 km/h. There is a universal minimum speed limit of 50 km/h.
The 4th ring road has three lanes in each direction, for a total of six lanes.
History
The route was originally called the "1st Expressway Ring Road", as it would take the form of an expressway, and therefore become the city's first expressway ring road. However, given the fact that the 2nd Ring Road, 3rd Ring Road and 4th Ring Road were in existence, re-ordering it as a ring road with a number value of 1, especially as it was outside the 4th Ring Road, looked odd. Therefore, it was renamed the 5th Ring Road, after some debate.Work began soon after and the first portion of the ring road opened in 2001, linking the Badaling Expressway
Badaling Expressway
The Badaling Expressway is an expressway in the People's Republic of China which links urban Beijing to the Badaling stretch of the Great Wall of China...
with the Airport Expressway
Airport Expressway (Beijing)
The Airport Expressway is an expressway in Beijing, China, which links central Beijing to the Beijing Capital International Airport...
. Further stretches of the road were soon opened. By mid-2003, half of the ring road was open, from the western end connecting the West Chang'an Avenue
Chang'an Avenue
Chang'an Avenue , literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major thoroughfare in Beijing, China.Chang'an is the old name for Xi'an which was the capital of China during the Tang Dynasty and other periods....
to the interchange in the southeast with the Jingjintang Expressway
Jingjintang Expressway
Opened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin...
.
The ring road was completed in its entirety on November 1, 2003, with the intersections with the Jingshi Expressway
Jingshi Expressway
The Jingshi Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to the Shijiazhuang. It is c. 270 km in length. Its road numbering is G030...
and the Jingkai Expressway
Jingkai Expressway
The Jingkai Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Kaifeng. At present, it is approximately 40 km in length in the Beijing section....
. Also completed on that same day was the Xiaoyue Tunnel
Xiaoyue Tunnel
The Xiaoyue Tunnel is an expressway tunnel in Beijing, China, and forms part of the Western 5th Ring Road....
-- noticeable for being the only tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
on any of the 5 Ring Roads of Beijing
Ring Roads of Beijing
Beijing is one of the very few cities to possess multiple ring roads .-1st Ring Road:The 1st Ring Road no longer exists under that name. In the 1920s, around half a dozen routes were established in Beijing for the first tram lines of the city...
.
The 5th Ring Road is home to the Shifeng Bridge
Shifeng Bridge
Shifeng Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge on Beijing's western 5th Ring Road. It is near Wanping, near the Marco Polo Bridge.Nearly 1.4 kilometres in length, it is a trademark bridge of the 5th Ring Road....
. This bridge was built and actually had to be rotated after it was built to link the two ends of the southwestern 5th Ring Road together. Underneath the bridge ran several important rail lines that could not be interrupted while the bridge was being built, which made it impossible for the Shifeng Bridge to be built like a normal bridge. It was instead constructed in parts extending the expressway as it went along. The completion of this colossal work accelerated the completion of the entire ring road.
At night, the Shifeng Bridge looks spectacular. It apparently is a trademark bridge of the expressway ring road.
Recent history
By mid-December 2004, a second exit lane was fitted for the Wangjing Science and Technology ParkWangjing Science and Technology Park
Wangjing Science and Technology Park is a technology center in Wangjing, Beijing, China that houses hundreds of enterprises, primarily in telecommunication and computer science....
exit (clockwise direction). Previously, traffic used to clog up the entire ring road (at around 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. local time every workday) near that exit, as it is very close to Wangjing
Wangjing, Beijing
Wangjing is a major residential area and subdistrict of Chaoyang District, in the northeast of Beijing, China. The name "Wangjing" means "view of Beijing".- Koreatown :...
. Also, a second exit liaising directly with Wangjing is under construction; it is very close to the Wangjing filling station on the ring road (clockwise direction again).
Tolls
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
per kilometre as a minimum for small vehicles (which would equate to just around 6 cents U.S.).
The charge, although small, was exorbitant for many drivers, who shied away from the expressway. Further protests derived from the apparent fact that drivers were being charged the full CNY 5 for just one kilometre of the road, from Yizhuang
Yizhuang, Beijing
Yizhuang is a town of Daxing District, in the southeast suburbs of Beijing, located just outside of the 5th Ring Road. Beijing Economic and Technical Development Area , the biggest economic and technical area is located here. There are a lot of high-tech research centers and joint ventures...
to the Jingjintang Expressway
Jingjintang Expressway
Opened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin...
. Additionally, users of the Badaling Expressway
Badaling Expressway
The Badaling Expressway is an expressway in the People's Republic of China which links urban Beijing to the Badaling stretch of the Great Wall of China...
and the Jingkai Expressway
Jingkai Expressway
The Jingkai Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Kaifeng. At present, it is approximately 40 km in length in the Beijing section....
, which have toll gates within the 5th Ring Road, moaned about being charged twice - once for the 5th Ring Road, and once again for the expressway connecting the ring road.
Beijingers soon learned to avoid this pricey path at all costs, preferring to sit out hours in jams on the 4th Ring Road and roads more central to Beijing. Thus, the 5th Ring Road became a virtually "wasted" ring expressway. As a result, this expressway was the subject of a heated debate in 2003. It became apparent that the 5th Ring Road was made just for those who could afford both the petrol and the tolls. Meanwhile, it became a kind of an unofficial test track for new drivers, who racked up spectacular (and, strictly speaking, illegal) speeds on the nearly empty expressway.
With Shoufa, the company running the expressway, unwilling to budge, standing firm to its view that the prices were authorised by the local Price Bureau, and with enough disgruntled Beijingers posting on message boards demanding the removal of the tolls, the authorities stepped in at the end of December 2003 and decreed that the road be made free on the first day of 2004. (At the same time, all charges for expressway exits within the confines of the 5th Ring Road were also done away with.) When the tolls were removed, usage of the 5th Ring Road gradually increased. The ring road previously managed with only 10% of its total designed capacity.
The expressway ring road, even without the charges, remains uncrowded today, except for any occurrence of a serious accident.
Bridges on the 5th Ring Road
Note: ↑ denotes an overpass, ↓ an underpass, and ⇆ an interchange bridge with exit.Northern 5th Ring Road
- ↑ Gongdesi Bridge
- ↑ Hongshan Bridge
- ⇆ Xiaojiayuan Bridge
- ⇆ Xianghongqi Bridge
- ↓ Jianting Bridge
- ↓ Shangqing West Bridge
- ⇆ Shangqing BridgeShangqing BridgeShangqing Bridge is an overpass in Beijing.It is an intersection where the northern stretch of the 5th Ring Road and the Badaling Expressway meet....
- ↑ Lincui Bridge
- ↓ Tianchen Bridge
- ⇆ Yangshan Bridge
- ↓ Beiyuan Bridge
- ↓ Gujiazhuang Bridge
- ⇆ Laiguangying Bridge
- ⇆ Guangshun Bridge
- ↓ Guangze Bridge
- ↑ Wuyuan North Bridge / Beixiaohe Bridge
Eastern 5th Ring Road
- ⇆ Wuyuan Bridge
- ↓ Huantie North Bridge
- ↑ Huantie Bridge
- ⇆ Qikeshu Bridge
- ⇆ PingfangPingfangPingfang District is a district in the outskirts of Harbin, China . It was the headquarters of the Japanese Biological Warfare Unit 731 during the Japanese invasion of China and World War II. It had an airport, railway and dungeons...
Bridge - ↓ Baijialou Bridge
- ↑ Dahuangzhuang Bridge
- ⇆ Yuantong Bridge
- ⇆ Wufang Bridge
- ⇆ Huagong Bridge
- ↑ Xizhihe Bridge
- ⇆ Dayangfang North Bridge
- ⇆ Dayangfang Bridge
Southern 5th Ring Road
- ⇆ Ronghua Bridge
- ⇆ Yizhuang Bridge
- ↑ Jiuzong Bridge
- ↑ Demao Bridge
- ↑ Yinluchi Bridge
- ↓ Tuanhe Bridge
- ↑ Jingxian Bridge
- ↑ Jinxi Bridge
- ↑ Tonghua Bridge
- ⇆ Xihongmen South Bridge
- ⇆ Xinhua Bridge
- ↓ Liying Bridge
- ⇆ Langfa East Bridge
- ↑ Langfa West Bridge
Western 5th Ring Road
- ⇆ Wanping Bridge
- ↑ Shifeng BridgeShifeng BridgeShifeng Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge on Beijing's western 5th Ring Road. It is near Wanping, near the Marco Polo Bridge.Nearly 1.4 kilometres in length, it is a trademark bridge of the 5th Ring Road....
- ↓ Yamenkou Bridge
- ↑ Lugu Bridge
- ⇆ Bajiao Bridge
- ⇆ Jinyuan Bridge
- ↓ Gengcun Bridge
- ↓ West Huangcun Bridge
- ⇆ Xingshikou Bridge
- ⇆ Minxin Bridge
- ⇆ Xiangquan Bridge
Eastern 5th Ring Road
- ↗ 3: DongbaDongbaThe term Dongba refers to the religious priests, the culture, and script of the Nakhi people, who are found in southwestern China.- Religion :...
, Qikeshu - ↗ 4: Yaojiayuan Road
- ⇆ 5: (Interchange with Jingtong ExpresswayJingtong ExpresswayThe Jingtong Expressway is an expressway with express road characteristics in Beijing, China which links central Beijing to Tongzhou District...
) Jingtong ExpresswayJingtong ExpresswayThe Jingtong Expressway is an expressway with express road characteristics in Beijing, China which links central Beijing to Tongzhou District... - S Guanyingtang West
- ⇆ 6: (Interchange with Jingshen ExpresswayJingshen ExpresswayThe Jingshen Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Shenyang. It is 658 km in length.It leaves Beijing heading east and is numbered G025...
) Jingshen ExpresswayJingshen ExpresswayThe Jingshen Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Shenyang. It is 658 km in length.It leaves Beijing heading east and is numbered G025... - ↗ 7: Taihu
- S Xiaoyangfang
- ⇆ 10: (Interchange with Jingjintang ExpresswayJingjintang ExpresswayOpened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin...
) Jingjintang ExpresswayJingjintang ExpresswayOpened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin...
Anticlockwise direction
- ⇆ 10: (Interchange with Jingjintang ExpresswayJingjintang ExpresswayOpened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin...
) Jingjintang ExpresswayJingjintang ExpresswayOpened in September 1993, the Jingjintang Expressway , also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin... - ↗ 9: YizhuangYizhuang, BeijingYizhuang is a town of Daxing District, in the southeast suburbs of Beijing, located just outside of the 5th Ring Road. Beijing Economic and Technical Development Area , the biggest economic and technical area is located here. There are a lot of high-tech research centers and joint ventures...
- S Xiaoyangfang
- ↗ 8: Ciqu, ShibalidianShibalidianthumb|300px|The Shibalidian transportational node.Shibalidian is the name of a transportational node in Beijing, China. Flanked by several overpasses, it is where the southeastern 4th Ring Road links with the Jingjintang Expressway...
- S Guanyingtang West
- ⇆ 6: (Interchange with Jingshen ExpresswayJingshen ExpresswayThe Jingshen Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Shenyang. It is 658 km in length.It leaves Beijing heading east and is numbered G025...
) Jingshen ExpresswayJingshen ExpresswayThe Jingshen Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Shenyang. It is 658 km in length.It leaves Beijing heading east and is numbered G025... - ⇆ 5: (Interchange with Jingtong ExpresswayJingtong ExpresswayThe Jingtong Expressway is an expressway with express road characteristics in Beijing, China which links central Beijing to Tongzhou District...
) Jingtong ExpresswayJingtong ExpresswayThe Jingtong Expressway is an expressway with express road characteristics in Beijing, China which links central Beijing to Tongzhou District... - ↗ 4: Yaojiayuan Road
- ↗ 3: DongbaDongbaThe term Dongba refers to the religious priests, the culture, and script of the Nakhi people, who are found in southwestern China.- Religion :...
, Qikeshu