PICTURE CHINA

The streets of China’s cities and towns are filled with all manner of vehicles both large and small, from hand-pulled rickshaws to luxury SUVs. Only a decade ago the bicycle was the preferred method of urban transportation but it is rapidly being faded out in favor of the automobile. Car ownership is seen by many Chinese as a status symbol and is increasing at a rate of fifteen percent per year. While some people point to these developments as a sign of China’s advancement, it is not coming without a price. More so than ever, commuting in China’s cities is an unpleasant experience; smog fills the air and congestion often slows traffic to a crawl.

On a national level, the Chinese government has invested billions of dollars in recent years to improve the countries transportation infrastructure. A plan to build 85,000km of expressways connecting every provincial capitol and city with a population over 200,000 is well underway and China’s rail system is constantly expanding, with well-publicized projects such as the Qinghai-Tibet railway opening this year. New airports, tunnels, bridges, dams and shipping ports are being built throughout the country, all in an attempt to keep up with China’s ever-expanding need to move its people and goods around the country and abroad.