The 4th Ring Road () is a controlled-access expressway

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

which runs around the city, with a radius of approximately from city centre. The total length of the road is . There are 147 bridges and viaducts that run the length of the Ring Road. The first section, the northern corridor, was completed in preparation for the

1990 Asian Games ) , nations = 31 , athletes = 6,122 , events = 308 in 27 sports , opening = 22 September 1990 , closing = 7 October 1990 , opened_by = Yang Shangkun , closed_by = Roy de Silva , athlete_oath = Chen L ...

. The Ring Road was 'enclosed' in a full circle in June 2001, with standard controlled-access expressway throughout.

Route

The 4th Ring Road is entirely within the city limit of

, and while it is called a ring, the road is shaped rectangularly. The route travels past: Siyuan Bridge -

Chaoyang Park Chaoyang Park () is a park located on the site of the former Prince's Palace in Beijing's Chaoyang District. The park's construction began in 1984 and it became Beijing's largest park. It is approximately 2.8 km in length and approximately 1.5 ...

Area -

Sihui Sihui (), formerly romanized as Szewui, is a county-level city in the west of the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural ...

- Sifang Bridge - Shibalidian - Dahongmen - Majialou - Yuegezhuang Bridge - Fengtai Area - Sijiqing Area -

Zhongguancun Zhongguancun ( Chinese: 中关村) is a major technology hub in the Haidian District, Beijing, China. Zhongguancun occupies a band between the northwestern Third Ring Road and the northwestern Fourth Ring Road in the northwestern part of Bei ...

Area - Jianxiang - Asian Games Village Area - Wanghe Bridge - Siyuan Bridge

History

In the early 1990s, the northern stretch of the 4th Ring Road from

to Siyuan Bridge existed as a ring road, albeit with far narrower road conditions and with traffic lights. Only three flyover viaducts—those at Jianxiang Bridge, Anhui Bridge and Siyuan Bridge—existed. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the eastern stretch of the 4th Ring Road was opened from Siyuan Bridge to Shibalidian around October 1, 1999. This was the first part of the ring road to be opened as an 8-lane expressway (4 lanes per direction, not including an emergency belt). The northern part of the 4th Ring Road from Jianxiang Bridge to Siyuan Bridge was converted to an 8-lane expressway in late September 2000. Later that year, the southern part from Shibalidian through to Fengtai opened to traffic, as was the case with the northwestern part. By June 2001, the entire 4th Ring Road had been converted into an expressway-standard thoroughfare. In early 2004, the speed limit was reduced to a unified 80 km/h (minimum speed limit: 50 km/h). In September 2004, the 4th Ring Road underwent a massive sign change. Exit numberings were unified at last—bidirectionally (this was previously not the case). A new overpass in the northern stretch was put into operation in October 2004, near the

Beichen Beichen District () is a district of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China. Before June 1992, the district was named ''Beijiao District'' (), reflecting its position in the northern suburbs of Tianjin. As the city expanded, it gr ...

area.

Road conditions

Speed limit

Previously: first lane, min. 80 km/h, max. 100 km/h; second lane, min. 70 km/h, max. 90 km/h; third lane, min. 60 km/h, max. 80 km/h; fourth lane, min. 50 km/h, max. 80 km/h; auxiliary road, uniform max. speed limit of 70 km/h. Readjusted in 2004 so that all lanes have a uniform min. speed limit of 50 km/h and a max. speed limit of 80 km/h; aux. road max. speed limit of 70 km/h remains unchanged.

Tolls

This express road does not charge tolls.

Lanes

8 lanes (4 in each direction) throughout.

Traffic conditions

The portion from Jianxiang to Siyuan Bridge, in both directions, is especially vulnerable to horrible traffic jams. The remainder of the northern and eastern portions are also vulnerable. Apart from the Fengtai area, the remainder of the 4th Ring Road has a lesser risk of being clogged up by traffic jams.

Major exits

Siyuan Bridge,

, Sifang Bridge, Shibalidian, Majialou, Fengtai, Yuegezhuang,

, Jianxiang Bridge, Wanghe Bridge.

Service areas

No full-scale service areas exist; however, filling stations (gas stations) are plentiful in number.

Connections

Badaling Expressway The Badaling Expressway (Simplified Chinese: 八达岭高速公路, Traditional Chinese: 八達嶺高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Bādálíng Gāosù Gōnglù) is an Controlled-access highway, expressway in China which links urban Beijing to the Bada ...

: Connects to the Badaling Expressway at Jianxiang Bridge.

Jingcheng Expressway Jingcheng may refer to: * Xu Jingcheng (許景澄) (1845–1900), Qing Dynasty diplomat *Jingcheng (竟成), a pseudonym of educator Kong Zhaoshou *Jingcheng, a name for Beijing's inner city * Jingcheng, Nanjing County, Zhangzhou (靖城镇), a to ...

: Connects to the Jingcheng Expressway at Wanghe Bridge (for the time being, only heading for

Laiguangying Laiguangying Township () is a Townships of China, township on the northern part of Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It borders Tiantongyuannan, Tiantongyuanbei Subdistricts and Beiqijia Town to the north, Sunhe and Cu ...

and

Chengde Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing e ...

). Airport Expressway: Connects to the Airport Expressway at Siyuan Bridge (only heading for the airport). Projected

Jingping Expressway S32 Jingping Expressway () is an Expressways of China, expressway in Beijing, China. Construction stages Construction started in early 2005, with a stretch opened by 2006. By 2007, the entire expressway was completed in full. The expressway is ...

: Would most likely connect at Dongfeng North Bridge. Jingtong Expressway: Connects to the Jingtong Expressway at

Jingshen Expressway Jingshen Seafood Market or Chingshen Seafood Market (JSM; ) is a marketplace in the Fengtai district of Beijing. Synopsis As with other marketplaces in China, wholesale and retail trade are both seen here, as well as restaurants. Jingshen is the ...

: Connects to the Jingshen Expressway at Sifang Bridge (only heading for

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

Jingjintang Expressway Jingjintang Expressway (), also known as the Jingtang Expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin. 143 kilometres in length, it crosses the jurisdictions of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei p ...

: Connects to the Jingjintang Expressway at Shibalidian. Jingkai Expressway: Connects to the Jingkai Expressway at Majialou. Jingshi Expressway: Connects to the Jingshi Expressway at Yuegezhuang.

Signs

When it was opened by 2001, the 4th Ring Road's signs were plagued by inconsistency. Mixing of

Hanyu Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means ' Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin'' literally ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

on the signs confused drivers, but what was most confusing was the exit numbering. It so happened that the ''same exit'' had ''two different exit numbers''—one for each direction of the ring road. Beijing authorities had three years' lapse before they dealt with the problem. Old signs were progressively replaced by newer signs which had standardised English and, finally, a new exit numbering system was in place. A sketch map of each exit, formerly only for expressways and isolated spots, was also introduced along with the new sign numbering. Another change was the use of traffic sign language to signal traffic regulations instead of relying completely on

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Hanzi Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only one ...

. Some bridge names (e.g. Sihe Bridge) are also getting a name change at the same time. The project was somewhat Herculean since 441 signs were to be replaced. Of those, exit and entrance signs formed 202 signs; other, mainly larger-sized signs, formed the remaining 239 signs. Earlier in the summer of 2004, similar measures for the

5th Ring Road Beijing's 5th Ring Road (, China Road Numbering: S50 (Beijing) is a Ring roads of Beijing, ring road encircling the city about away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is in length. Being a ring road, it has no natur ...

(which had an absent-to-chaotic exit numbering system) were announced. In a show of speed, within the first 100 hours, new exit numberings were put up for almost all of the western stretch of the 4th Ring Road (despite new/old signs being alternated on a different stretch of the ring road). Reaction to the new signs are mixed. There is a definitive plus side: the exits are now matched with their equivalent exit/bridge names on the 3rd and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

ring roads A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

. Unfortunately, many complain of an information overkill. Signs are now complex enough to hold five ''different'' directions (on some bridges). Meanwhile, the mixing of lowercase and uppercase English in small font sizes is another concern. On both the 4th Ring Road and the

, some speed cameras were put into place, along with the general sign changes.

List of exits

[Heading in a clockwise direction as of the Northern 4th Ring Road—please note, Exit No. 1 begins at Wanghe Bridge] Notes: * Exits present only in a clockwise direction are indicated by the symbol ↩; anticlockwise only, ↪; not yet open, ✕ * Exit sign symbols: ↗ = exit, ⇆ = interchange with an expressway or

China National Highway The China National Highways (CNH/Guodao) () is a network of trunk roads across mainland China. Established to facilitate transportation and economic development, the system includes north-south and east-west arterial highways, expressways, and l ...

;

North 4th Ring Road

* ↗ 43:

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...

, Landianchang North Road ( Huoqiying Bridge) * ↗ 44: Wanquanhe Road, Suzhou Bridge * ↗ 45: Haidian Bridge * ↗ 46:

, Sitong Bridge * ↗ 47: Xueyuan Road, Jimen Bridge (Xueyuan Bridge) * ↗ 48: Zhixin East Street, Beitaiping Bridge (Zhixin Bridge) * ⇆ 49: ''(Interchange with

)''

(Jianxiang Bridge) ** ⇆ 49A: Madian Bridge ** ⇆ 49B:

( Changping) ** ↗ 49C: Beichen West Road (''max. height 3.5 m'') * ↗ 50: Beichen Road, Beichen East Road, Beichen West Road (Beichen Bridge) * ↗ 51: Anzhen Bridge, Anli Road ( Anhui Bridge) * ↗ 52: Beiyuan Road, Lishuiqiao * ↗ 53: Heping East Bridge, Xiaoying Road ( Huixin East Bridge) * ↗ (↩) Yuhui South Street * ⇆ 1: ''(Interchange with

'')

( Wanghe Bridge) ** ⇆ 1A: 3rd Ring Road ✕ ** ⇆ 1B: N.

, Shunyi * ↗ (↪) Jiangzhuanghu * ↗ 2: Wangjing West Road * ↗ 3: ✕ * ⇆ 4: ''(Interchange with the Airport Expressway and

China National Highway 101 China National Highway 101 is a major trunk route connecting Beijing to Shenyang, Liaoning. In Beijing it is known as Jingshun Road () or Jingmi Road () for connecting central Beijing to Shunyi District and Miyun District, although the actual r ...

)'' ( Siyuan Bridge) ** ⇆ 4A: Sanyuan Bridge, (↩) Xiaoyun Road ** ⇆ 4B: Jingshun Road ( Shunyi) ** ⇆ 4C: Airport Expressway

East 4th Ring Road

* ↗ 5: (↪) Sanyuan East Bridge,

Dashanzi Dashanzi (大山子, Pinyin: Dàshānzi) is a 1 square kilometer area in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, northeast of the city center. It lies along the Airport Expressway between the 4th and 5th Ring Roads, south of the Dashanzi flyover ( ...

(Xiaoyun Bridge) * ↗ 6: Yansha Bridge, Jiuxianqiao (Dongfeng North Bridge) * ↗ 7: Yaojiayuan Road, Changhong Bridge (Chaoyuangongyuan Bridge) * ↗ 8: Changhong Bridge,

, Yaojiayuan Road, Chaoyang North Road ( Honglingjin Bridge) * ↗ 9: ✕ * ⇆ 10: ''(Interchange with Jingtong Expressway)'' Guomao Bridge, Jingtong Expressway (

Bridge) * ↗ 11: Shuangjing Bridge, Guangqu Road ( Dajiaoting Bridge) * ↗ 12: Jinsong Bridge, Huagong Road ( Yaowahu Bridge) * ↗ 13: Gongda Bridge * ⇆ 14: ''(Interchange with

)''

(bound for

and

Beidaihe Beidaihe District () is a popular beach resort and a district of the city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei province on China's Bohai Sea coast. It has an area of and, , a population of 130,104, as well as a coastline of . It is also known as a birding h ...

) * ↗ 15: Hongyan Road, Fatou ( Hongyan Bridge) * ↗ 16: (↪) Shibalidian North Bridge * ⇆ 17: ''(Interchange with

)''

(bound for

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

) ( Shibalidian Bridge)

South 4th Ring Road

* ↗ 18: Fenzhongsi Bridge, Boda Rd, Shibalidian ( Shibalidian South Bridge) * ↗ 19: (↩) Longzhuashu (Xiaohongmen Bridge) * ↗ 20: Chengshousi, Yizhuang (Xiaocun Bridge) * ↗ 21: (↩) Dahongmen / (↪)

Xiaohongmen Xiaohongmen Township () is a township on the southern part of Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It borders Shibalidian Township to the northeast, Yizhuang Township to the southeast, Jiugong Township to the southwest, Dahongmen, Dongtiejiangying ...

(Liuxiang Bridge) * ↗ 22: (↪) Dahongmen,

Jiugong Jiugong () is an area in northern Daxing District, Beijing, located just inside the 5th Ring Road. It borders Huaxiang and Nanyuan Subdistircts to its north and west, Xiaohongmen and Yizhuang Towns to its east, as well as Yinghai and Xihongmen Tow ...

( Dahongmen East Bridge) * ⇆ 23: ''(Interchange with

China National Highway 104 China National Highway 104 (G104) runs from Beijing to Pingtan via Jinan, Xuzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Taizhou and Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south a ...

)'' Nanyuan Road (G104), Muxiyuan Bridge, Nanyuan Airport ( Dahongmen Bridge) * ↗ 24: Wanfang Bridge, Majiapu Road (Gongyi Bridge) * ↗ 25: Caoqiao * ⇆ 26: ''(Interchange with Jingkai Expressway)'' Jingkai Expressway ( Majialou Bridge) * ↗ 27: Xinfadi * ↗ 28: Huaxiang ( Sihe Bridge)

West 4th Ring Road

* ↗ 29: Baiqiang Ave,

Beijing World Park Beijing World Park () is a theme park that attempts to give visitors the chance to see the world without having to leave Beijing. The park covers 46.7 hectares and is located in the southwestern Fengtai District of Beijing. It is about 17 ...

, Sci-Tech Park (

Kandan Bridge Kandan Subdistrict () is a subdistrict located in the southern side of Fengtai District, Beijing, China. It shares border with Wulidian and Fengtai Subdistricts to the north, Xincun and Yuquanying Subdistricts to the east, Huaxiang Subdistrict ...

) * ↗ 30: Fengtai S Rd, Fufeng Rd, Kexing Rd ( Kefeng Bridge) * ↗ 31: Fengtai Town * ↗ 32: ''(Interchange with Jingshi Expressway)'' Jingshi Expressway (headed for Fangshan) (road link under construction) ( Fengbei Bridge) * ⇆ 33: ''(Interchange with Jingshi Expressway)'' Jingshi Expressway (headed for Fangshan) ( Yuegezhuang Bridge) * ↗ 34: Liuli Bridge, Zhengchangzhuang * ↗ 35: (Wukesong Bridge) * ↗ 36: (↩) Yongding Rd, Xicui Rd * ↗ 37: Fushi Road, Hangtian Bridge ( Dinghui Bridge) * ↗ 38: Wuluju * ↗ 39: Xingshikou Bridge, Eight Great Sites, Zizhu Bridge ( Sijiqing Bridge) * ↗ 40: (↩) Yuanda Road * ↗ 41: Xijiao Airport, Landianchang (Nanwu Bridge) * ↗ 42:

Fragrant Hills Fragrant Hills Park or Xiangshan Park (香山公园) is a public park and former imperial garden at the foot of the Western Hills in the Haidian District, Beijing, China. It was also formerly known as Jingyi Garden or "Jingyiyuan" (靜宜園). ...

Jade Spring Hills Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...

( Sihai Bridge)

References

{{Reflist Road transport in Beijing Ring roads in China Zhongguancun