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29-565: Tolls apply as of Dayangfang near the Eastern 5th Ring Road in Beijing until the Tanggu / TEDA exit. The expressway uses a networked toll system across all jurisdictions and is managed by Huabei (North China) Expressways. This route is now part of [REDACTED] G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway and Tianjin [REDACTED] ( [REDACTED] ) expressway. The Jingjintang Expressway runs through

58-418: A corridor between Beijing and Tianjin. Areas of the expressway are many times very foggy and that has led to a number of accidents. On October 19, 2004, seven vehicles involved in three accidents plunged into each other in early morning fog, killing two and injuring many more on the stretch of expressway from Beijing to Tianjin, at the stretch between Majuqiao and Caiyu . With a history of over ten years,

87-491: A much higher risk for congestion than the 4th Ring Road (both directions) during rush hour, despite the section past the Wuyuan Bridge (inner ring direction) having a speed limit of 100 km/h and the expressway being more distant from the city centre. Note: ↑ denotes an overpass, ↓ an underpass, and ⇆ an interchange bridge with exit. Symbols: ↗ = exit (✕ = closed), ⇆ = main interchange; S = service area. There

116-404: A whole increased on PRC roads. The situation on the expressway in 2004, therefore, is different from that of 1993. A 2004 traffic jam—or traffic disturbance—that upset just one lane (not to mention more than one lane), would upset the entire expressway. Traffic would begin to pile up for kilometres and hours on end. The relative lack of exits (only ten for the entire stretch) could further compound

145-560: Is a ring road encircling the city about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is 98 kilometres (61 mi) in length. Being a ring road, it has no natural start or end point, although the "0 km" mark is found near the northeastern stretch at Laiguangying, at the intersection with the Jingcheng Expressway . The expressway ring road is a provincial-level road in Beijing municipality. All of Beijing's expressways, except for

174-649: Is a song circulating on the Chinese internet since the 2010s called the Song of the 5th Ring . The most famous cover of this song was performed by MC HotDog and Yue Yunpeng , used as an interlude of the movie Jian Bing Man . Outer Ring Road (Tianjin) The Outer Ring Road in Tianjin , China is a city express road, 71.322 kilometres in length, which encircles Tianjin municipality . Although its distance markers indicate its status as an expressway-grade road, it

203-484: Is a trademark bridge of the expressway ring road. By mid-December 2004, a second exit lane was fitted for the Wangjing Science and Technology Park exit (clockwise direction). Previously, traffic used to clog up the entire ring road (at around 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. local time every workday) near that exit, as it is very close to Wangjing . Also, a second exit liaising directly with Wangjing is under construction; it

232-478: Is not, strictly speaking, an expressway, as it has at-grade crossings, a low speed limit (60 km/h or 80 km/h), and even traffic lights. The Jinghu , Jinbin , Jingjintang , Baojin and Jinji Expressways are all linked by this ring road. Major China National Highways and roads to Zibo , Tangshan , Wuxi and other nearby localities, as well as to other regions in the municipality, are also linked. This People's Republic of China road-related article

261-490: Is very close to the Wangjing filling station on the ring road (clockwise direction again). When the 5th Ring Road was completed (and even while segments were already open to the traffic), the expressway became a toll ring road. The charge was 0.5 CNY per kilometre as a minimum for small vehicles (which would equate to just around 6 cents U.S.). The charge, although small, was exorbitant for many drivers, who shied away from

290-673: The Beijing section from Fenzhongsi through Shibalidian has a mixed speed limit of 70 km/h or 80 km/h (only when leaving Beijing). Tolls apply for the stretch east of Dayangfang until Tanggu . 4 lanes (2 up, 2 down), with emergency shoulders. Exception: Section in Beijing ( Fenzhongsi - Shibalidian ) has 6 lanes (3 up, 3 down). Fenzhongsi , Dayangfang , Majuqiao , Caiyu , Langfang , Yangcun , Yixingbu , Central Tianjin , Tianjin Airport, Tanggu Majuqiao, Xuguantun, Dongli. Ring Roads of Beijing : Connects with

319-488: The Tongyan Expressway , are interlinked with the 5th Ring Road. Portions of the expressway have a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h, with the remainder imposing a speed limit of 100 km/h. There is a universal minimum speed limit of 50 km/h. The 5th ring road has three lanes in each direction, for a total of six lanes. The route was originally called the "1st Expressway Ring Road", as it would take

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348-565: The PRC authorities and state media spared the least of efforts in trumpeting the creation of the Jingjintang Expressway, promoting it to the bitter end, and creating an illusion that the expressway was it in the PRC's expressway world. As a result of this widespread promotion, the expressway was known as the "golden expressway". In November 2004, however, things looked very different. Incessant traffic jams, breakdowns, and chaos on

377-611: The SW 3rd Ring Road at Fenzhongsi , the SW 4th Ring Road at Shibalidian , the SW 5th Ring Road at Dayangfang and the SW 6th Ring Road at Majuqiao . Jinghu Expressway : Connects with the Jinghu Expressway at Yixingbu . Jinji Expressway : Connects with the newly opened Jinji Expressway at Central Tianjin exit (Jinzhong Road). Tianjin Outer Ring Road : Connects at Yixingbu . Upon its completion,

406-485: The bridge ran several important rail lines that could not be interrupted while the bridge was being built, which made it impossible for the Shifeng Bridge to be built like a normal bridge. It was instead constructed in parts extending the expressway as it went along. The completion of this colossal work accelerated the completion of the entire ring road. At night, the Shifeng Bridge looks spectacular. It apparently

435-414: The charges, remains uncrowded today, except for any occurrence of a serious accident. The sole remaining toll is located at Shangqing Bridge. The section from Wufang Bridge to Shangqing Bridge in both directions has a moderate to high risk of traffic jams due to its proximity to important residential districts and tourist destinations, such as Wangjing, Beiyuan, and Yayuncun. This section has, unusually,

464-405: The expressway -- per day . Compounding the problem is a very narrow (2.4 m in width) hard shoulder , and the lack of emergency bays. Compound that with fog in the southeastern Beijing section, and no lights at night outside of the 4th Ring Road (Beijing) , and one understands why the label "road of death" sticks so well to the expressway today. China was a different country back in 1993, when

493-432: The expressway connecting the ring road. Beijingers soon learned to avoid this pricey path at all costs, preferring to sit out hours in jams on the 4th Ring Road and roads more central to Beijing. Thus, the 5th Ring Road became a virtually "wasted" ring expressway. As a result, this expressway was the subject of a heated debate in 2003. It became apparent that the 5th Ring Road was made just for those who could afford both

522-424: The expressway earned it a more popular nickname—the "road of death". The very problem lies within the expressway itself—massive traffic. The expressway was designed for a traffic audience of 50,000 vehicles a day—and apparently, not a vehicle more, as the current average of 59,000 vehicles a day is stretching the expressway to its limits. Meanwhile, during periods of high use, 130,000 vehicles are reported to be using

551-461: The expressway first opened. For a start, there were fewer drivers, and traffic—especially expressway traffic—was less of a problem. Therefore, when the expressway opened in September 1993, it could cope rather well with just two lanes in one direction—for over a hundred kilometres. Things changed in the late 1990s. Private citizens could apply for driver's licences with greater ease, and traffic as

580-522: The expressway was beginning to feel the crunch of massive traffic, especially the increase of heavy lorries. As a result, at least two other expressways linking Beijing to Tianjin were constructed. A variation of routes leaves Beijing heading toward Pinggu District , and links with the Jinji Expressway . Uniform maximum speed limit of 110 km/h (sparsely signposted at times) outside of Beijing; Beijing section now only 90 km/h. However,

609-618: The expressway. Further protests derived from the apparent fact that drivers were being charged the full CNY 5 for just one kilometre of the road, from Yizhuang to the Jingjintang Expressway . Additionally, users of the Badaling Expressway and the Jingkai Expressway , which have toll gates within the 5th Ring Road, moaned about being charged twice – once for the 5th Ring Road, and once again for

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638-537: The first portion of the ring road opened in 2001, linking the Badaling Expressway with the Airport Expressway . Further stretches of the road were soon opened. By mid-2003, half of the ring road was open, from the western end connecting the West Chang'an Avenue to the interchange in the southeast with the Jingjintang Expressway . The ring road was completed in its entirety on November 1, 2003, with

667-401: The form of an expressway, and therefore become the city's first expressway ring road. However, given the fact that the 2nd Ring Road , 3rd Ring Road and 4th Ring Road were in existence, re-ordering it as a ring road with a number value of 1, especially as it was outside the 4th Ring Road, looked odd. Therefore, it was renamed the 5th Ring Road, after some debate. Work began soon after and

696-665: The intersections with the Jingshi Expressway and the Jingkai Expressway . Also completed on that same day was the Xiaoyue Tunnel —noticeable for being the only tunnel on any of the Ring Roads of Beijing . The 5th Ring Road is home to the Shifeng Bridge . This bridge was built and actually had to be rotated after it was built to link the two ends of the southwestern 5th Ring Road together. Underneath

725-452: The jurisdictional boundary with Beijing Listed are exits heading southeast as of the jurisdictional boundary with Hebei/Tianjin (Wuqing District) 39°13′38″N 117°12′23″E  /  39.2271°N 117.2063°E  / 39.2271; 117.2063 5th Ring Road Beijing 's 5th Ring Road ( simplified Chinese : 五环路 ; traditional Chinese : 五環路 ; pinyin : Wǔ Huán Lù , China Road Numbering : S50 (Beijing)

754-536: The municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin , as well as Hebei province. Beijing ( Fenzhongsi - Shibalidian - Dayangfang - Majuqiao - Caiyu ) - Langfang ( Hebei ) - Tianjin ( Yangcun - Central Tianjin - Tianjin Airport - Tanggu District / TEDA ). The expressway opened on September 25, 1993, and was the first express to be built to more recent standards. This expressway has slashed driving time from Beijing to Tianjin to around one hour, and has created

783-430: The petrol and the tolls. Meanwhile, it became a kind of an unofficial test track for new drivers, who racked up spectacular (and, strictly speaking, illegal) speeds on the nearly empty expressway. With Shoufa, the company running the expressway, unwilling to budge, standing firm to its view that the prices were authorised by the local Price Bureau, and with enough disgruntled Beijingers posting on message boards demanding

812-576: The problem. As it forms a vital corridor for traffic from Tianjin and Tanggu , the expressway is often full of lorries. Two lorries overtaking each other would shrink average speed limits for the car following behind considerably—from the legal 110 km/h down to approximately 80 km/h or sometimes even 60 km/h. Symbols: ↗ = exit (→ = only on way out of Beijing), ✕ = closed exit, ⇆ = main interchange; ¥ = central toll gate; S = service area Listed are exits heading southeast as of Beijing (3rd Ring Road) Listed are exits heading southeast as of

841-462: The removal of the tolls, the authorities stepped in at the end of December 2003 and decreed that the road be made free on the first day of 2004. (At the same time, all charges for expressway exits within the confines of the 5th Ring Road were also done away with.) When the tolls were removed, usage of the 5th Ring Road gradually increased. The ring road previously managed with only 10% of its total designed capacity. The expressway ring road, even without

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