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The expressway network of China is an integrated system of national and provincial-level expressways in China. It is the world's largest expressway system by length, having surpassed the overall length of the American Interstate Highway System in 2011. At the end of 2014, the total length of the network was , of which of expressways were built in that year alone. A system of national-level expressways, officially known as the National Trunk Highway System () and abbreviated NTHS,〔Li, Si-ming and Shum, Yi-man. (Impacts of the National Trunk Highway System on accessibility in China ). ''Journal of Transport Geography''.〕 with 7 radial expressways (from the capital Beijing), 9 north-south expressways and 18 east-west expressways, forms the backbone of the expressway network in the country. This backbone is known as the 7918 network ().〔(国家高速公路网规划 (National Trunk Highway System Planning) ). 13 January 2005. 〕 In addition, the provincial-level divisions of China each have their own expressway systems. Expressways in China are a fairly recent addition to the transportation infrastructure in the country. Previously, the national road network consisted of a system of at-grade China National Highways. China's first expressway, the Shanghai–Jiading Expressway, opened in October 1988.〔(国内首条取消收费高速公路改建工程启动 ). ''News.cn''. 〕〔The Shanghai–Jiading Expressway was the first expressway to be built in Mainland China, excluding Taiwan (see Political status of Taiwan), as well as Hong Kong and Macau, which were under British and Portuguese control respectively at the time. If Taiwan is included, the first expressway to open in China was Taiwan's National Highway 1, known as the Zhongshan Expressway, which opened in 1974.〕 This expressway now forms part of Shanghai's expressway network. The early 1990s saw the start of the country's massive plan to upgrade its network of roads.〔 In 1999, the length of the network exceeded in length.〔(National Bureau of Statistics of China ).〕 Many of the major expressways parallel routes of the older China National Highways. == History == Prior to the 1980s, freight and passenger transport activities were predominantly achieved by rail transport rather than by road. The 1980s and 1990s saw a growing trend toward roads as a method of transportation and a shift away from rail transport. In 1978, rail transport accounted for 54.4% of the total freight movement in China, while road transport only accounted for 2.8%. By 1997, road transport's share of freight movement had increased to 13.8% while the railway's share decreased to 34.3%. Similarly, road's share of passenger transport increased from 29.9% to 53.3% within the same time period, with railway's share decreasing from 62.7% to 35.4%. The shift from rail to road can be attributed to the rapid development of the expressway network in China.〔 On 7 June 1984, China's expressway ambitions began when construction of the Shenyang–Dalian Expressway began between the cities of Shenyang and Dalian. The expressway is now part of the longer G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway. Later that year, construction began on the Shanghai–Jiading Expressway in the city of Shanghai. The Shanghai–Jiading Expressway opened on 31 October 1988, becoming the first completed expressway in China.〔 On 13 January 2005, Zhang Chunxian, China's Minister of Transport announced that that China would build a network of expressways over the next three decades, connecting all provincial capitals and cities with a population of over 200,000 residents. The announcement introduced the 7918 network (), a grid of 7 radial expressways from Beijing, 9 north-south expressways, and 18 east-west expressways that would form the backbone of the national expressway system.〔 This replaced the earlier proposal for five north-south and seven east-west core routes, proposed in 1992.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Expressways of China」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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