China built 4,600 kilometers of new expressways last year, extending the total length to 29,800 kilometers, according to statistics from the Ministry of Communications.
 
Minister Zhang Chunxian said that 2003 saw the completion of four more arterial expressways, which link northeast Tongjiang City in Heilongjiang Province to the southernmost Sanya City in Hainan, the country's capital Beijing to the southern port Zhuhai, the eastern coastal city of Lianyungang to the western land port Horgos in Xinjiang, and the metropolis Shanghai to the southwestern inland city of Chengdu.

Expressways in over a half of China's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have exceeded 1,000 kilometers, the statistics show.

East China's Shandong Province has over 3,000 kilometers of expressways, ranking first in the country. Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces take second place with over 2,000 kilometers each.

"China has taken only 10 years for these developments in the expressway construction, which developed countries have spent three or four times longer to achieve," Zhang said.

In 1989, the expressways in the Chinese mainland reached only 271 kilometers. The figure amounted to over 10,000 kilometers in 1999 and rose to 25,200 kilometers by the end of 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2004)