Wenyi Zhang
Research expert covering Greater China
Transport infrastructure in China - statistics & facts
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Over the last decade, China's transportation infrastructure network - including road, rail, waterway, and airport systems - has undergone unprecedented growth in terms of length and quality. China has been a role model in developing highways and high-speed rail. As of 2023, the length of China's highways exceeded 183,000 kilometers. In the same year, China expanded the length of high-speed railroads to 43,700 kilometers. Regarding air transport infrastructure, the Civil Aviation Administration of China recorded 259 civil airports in operation in 2023. China's water transport infrastructure was also strengthened with 2,409 and 469 berths of 10,000 tons deadweight and above in its coastal and inland river ports, respectively.
By the end of 2023, China owned three airports with an annual passenger throughput of more than 50 million passengers and seven with an annual cargo throughput of more than 500,000 metric tons. Yangtze river is the main river for inland water transport in China, with a total inland waterway length of approximately 64,800 kilometers, which far exceeded the length of other rivers combined. Yangtze River Delta, centered on the Shanghai Port and surrounded by the ports of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, is the largest and busiest port cluster in China and worldwide.
Expanding infrastructure to facilitate passenger and freight transport
The rapid development of the road network, especially the highways, is necessary to support the country’s growing road freight traffic. On the railroad side, Inner Mongolia was the region with not only the longest operating railroad network but also the second largest rail freight volume, with more than 902 million metric tons of cargo in 2023. However, the passenger rail section presented a different picture, with Guangdong carrying the most rail passengers in the country.By the end of 2023, China owned three airports with an annual passenger throughput of more than 50 million passengers and seven with an annual cargo throughput of more than 500,000 metric tons. Yangtze river is the main river for inland water transport in China, with a total inland waterway length of approximately 64,800 kilometers, which far exceeded the length of other rivers combined. Yangtze River Delta, centered on the Shanghai Port and surrounded by the ports of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, is the largest and busiest port cluster in China and worldwide.
