- published: 06 Jul 2016
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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. Between the end of 2014 and 2015, the total length of the network grew from 111,950 kilometres (69,560 mi) to 123,000 kilometres (76,000 mi) meaning 11,050 kilometres (6,870 mi) of expressway were built in 2015 alone. A system of national-level expressways, officially known as the National Trunk Highway System (simplified Chinese: 中国国家高速公路网; traditional Chinese: 中國國家高速公路網; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guójiā Gāosù Gōnglùwǎng) and abbreviated NTHS, 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 (simplified Chinese: 7918网; traditional Chinese: 7918網; pinyin: 7918 wǎng). In addition, the provincial-level divisions of China each have their own expressway systems.
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces; five autonomous regions; four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau); and claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area, and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.