Since the founding of the PRC in 1949, China has
formed a comprehensive transportation system comprehending
railways, highways, civil aviation and water transport, and
a posts and telecommunications network accessible from all
directions. As the market economy system was established
after the initiation of the policies of reform and opening
to the outside world in 1978, historic changes took place in
transport, posts and telecommunications—they have
developed quickly and are heading for openness and
competition, emerging from a closed and monopolistic state.
By the end of 1999, the total length of transportation lines
in China had reached 3.55 million km, 16.3 times and 2.88
times the lengths in 1949 and 1978, respectively; the total
length of optical cable lines had reached 194,000 km from
zero in 1978. In 1978, there were no mobile
telecommunications in China; however, in 1999, the mobile
phone users reached 43.24 million. Mobile telecommunications
have developed to the extent of using analogue and digital
networks, and realized automatic roaming with some countries
and regions. Data telecommunications have grown from nothing
to the stage of having an efficient network.
The level of technical equipment
of transport, posts and telecommunications is continuously
rising. By the end of 1999, the length of double-track
railways had reached 20,935 km, with a double-track rate of
35.7 percent, a nearly 20 percentage points increase over
1978; and the length of electrified lines had reached 13,629
km, with an electrification rate of 23.4 percent, a 20.4
percentage points increase over 1978. Developing from
nothing, the length of expressways has reached 9,083 km. The
numbers of railway engines, civil vehicles, motor transport
ships and airplanes have all doubled or redoubled. New
berths at major harbors total 1,236, of which 347 are
10,000-ton-class berths, and the number of new civil
airports is over 90. With the improvement of transport
capacity and expansion of posts and telecommunications,
transport, posts and telecommunications have developed by
leaps and bounds. In 1999, the various transport means
carried 4,023.5 billion tons/km of freight, and 1,125
billion persons/km—4.1 times and 65 times increases
over 1978, respectively. The posts and telecommunications
volume totaled 331.1 billion yuan, 109 times that of 1978 in
constant prices.
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