The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost

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 ...

highway which encircles the

city center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

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 ...

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 first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original ring road (the southern section of which is now excluded from the current ring road), and the newly extended ring road. This article only covers the current (new) 2nd Ring Road.

History and geography

The 2nd Ring Road runs close to where Beijing's city walls once stood; numerous junctions bear the old city gate's name. A small number of these city gates themselves still stand: Southeast corner tower,

Deshengmen Deshengmen () is a city gate that was once part of Beijing's northern city wall. It is one of Beijing's few preserved city gates and now stands as a landmark on the northern 2nd Ring Road. Latimer D. (2014) ''The Improbable Beijing Guidebook'', ...

and

Yongdingmen Yongdingmen (), was the former front gate of the outer city of Beijing's old city wall. Originally built in 1553 during Ming Dynasty, it was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the new road system in Beijing. In 2005, the Yongdingmen was reco ...

(which has been rebuilt). Most of the old city walls were pulled down shortly after the

was established in 1949. Although it was suggested that the 2nd Ring Road was built over the old city walls, by comparing current city maps with old maps of Beijing, it has been found this is not exactly true. The road instead mostly follows the former moat that surrounded the city wall; in places, the moat survives as a canal. The 2nd ring road was completed in the 1980s. All traffic lights were removed in the 1990s, and several new overpasses were built. In 2001, the 2nd Ring Road was overhauled. It was fully re-surfaced, and greenery substantially increased. Much of Line 2 of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Direct-controlled municipality, Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail, light rail tram line ...

runs underneath the Second Ring Road. Many stations have exits on both sides of the road, with the exception of

Andingmen Andingmen () was a gate in Beijing's Ming-era city wall, which were built to protect the emperor and people against northern invaders. Like so many others, the gate was torn down in the 1950s. Where the gate once stood is now Andingmen Bridge, ...

The Old 2nd Ring Road

The former "old 2nd Ring Road" has an elliptical shape. Its northwest corner is at Xizhimen, the northeast corner is at

Dongzhimen Dongzhimen () was a gate in the old Beijing city fortifications. It is now a commercial center and transportation node in Beijing. Latimer D. (2014) ''The Improbable Beijing Guidebook'', Sinomaps, Beijing, , p.69 History The Marquis of Extended ...

, and southern corners are at Dongbianmen and Xibianmen. The southern side is the so-called "Metro Road" which goes through

Qianmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, ), a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guarded the southern entry into the Inner Cit ...

, at the southern end of

Tian'anmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

The New 2nd Ring Road

The new road is simply an extension of the western and eastern parts of the original 2nd Ring Road. It extends beyond Dongbianmen and Xibianmen, thus reaching Zuo'anmen to the southeast and the Caihuying overpass complex in the southwest. The extensions were known for a while as the ''external 2nd Ring Road'', though this term is becoming more and more unpopular.

Gates and the 2nd Ring Road

The 2nd Ring Road passes the sites of many of the old city gates around Beijing. These include: *

Chaoyangmen Chaoyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:šun be aliha duka) was a gate in the former city wall of Beijing. It is now a transportation node and a district border in Beijing. It is located in the Dongcheng District of northeastern central Beijing. R ...

Guangqumen The Beijing city fortifications were a series of Defensive wall, walls with towers and gates constructed in the city of Beijing, China in the early 1400s until they were partially demolished in 1965 for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road and ...

* Zuo'anmen *

* You'anmen *

Guang'anmen __NOTOC__ Guang'anmen, also known as the , Guangningmen and Zhangyimen, was a city gate of old Beijing, constructed during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1521–1567) of the Ming Dynasty. This gate was part of Beijing city fortifications, Be ...

Fuchengmen Fuchengmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorf:elgiyen i mutehe duka), formerly known as Pingze Gate, was a gate on the western side of Beijing's city wall. The gate was torn down in the 1960s, and has been replaced by the Fuchengmen overpass on the 2nd Ri ...

* Xizhimen Only Deshengmen and Yongdingmen (rebuilt 2005) still stand; the others were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s. Gates through which the former Inner 2nd Ring Road ("Metro Road") passes are: *

Chongwenmen Chongwenmen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: šu be wesihulere duka) was a gate that was part of Beijing's city wall in what is now Dongcheng District. The gate stood in the southeastern part of Beijing's inner city, immediately south of the old Beij ...

Zhengyangmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu language, Manchu: ; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, ), a gate in Beijing's historic Beijing city fortifications, city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once ...

* Xuanwumen Only

is still standing today.

Road conditions

Surface conditions

After completion in the 1980s, the design of the 2nd Ring Road was sufficient for its traffic load. However, as utilization increased in the late 20th century, the road surface rapidly deteriorated. Prior to 2001, the road gave motorists an uncomfortable bumpy ride. Since the total resurfacing, driving on the road has been much more pleasant. Partial resurfacing work is ongoing.

Central location

Located in the heart of the city, the 2nd Ring Road is also a transportation

bottleneck Bottleneck may refer to: * the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle Science and technology * Bottleneck (engineering), where the performance of an entire system is limited by a single component * Bottleneck (network), in a communication network * ...

. Traffic jams are common, and it is hard to find immediate alternative routes as the 2nd Ring has few direct links to expressways. For cars and larger vehicles, there is no way to cross the 2nd Ring Road except at full junctions, or by making a U-turn under an overpass; pedestrians, cycles and motorcycles can make use of pedestrian overpasses. The speed limit is 80 km/ h except for sharply turning sections such as between Xiaojie Bridge and Dongzhimen. Speed checks are very frequent and cameras are often operating, some of the locations of these are known, while some are hidden beneath bridges or behind screens.

Traffic jams

Traffic jams on the 2nd Ring Road have become a part of daily life. Nevertheless, their intensity varies. The northern stretch between ''

'' and ''Xiaojie Bridge'' is often jammed, particularly in the lead to the turn-off for the Airport Expressway. The same goes for part of the road around ''

'' and all of the western side. The entire eastern side is frequently jammed due to its proximity to the Beijing CBD. Less frequently jammed traffic can be found on the southern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road from '' Caihuying'' through '' Zuo'anmen''. While the 2nd Ring Road is often congested, unlike the 3rd Ring Road, it is never gridlocked. The 3rd Ring Road uses

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

s, which includes traffic lights. These interchanges back up traffic and causes gridlock. The 2nd Ring Road instead employs mostly

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...

s, which allows traffic to flow freely and without traffic lights, therefore eliminating traffic back up.

Road condition monitors

Electronic message signs (or screens) are placed throughout the 2nd Ring Road, displaying information about current traffic. The information is only given in

simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized Chinese characters, character sets widely used to write the Chinese language, with the other being traditional characters. Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of ...

at present. The western part of the 2nd Ring Road has "smart" electronic screens, automatically updated every five minutes. Traffic conditions are continuously monitored. Maps are also shown on them to notify drivers of road conditions at various parts of the road, including Jishuitan, Xizhimen, and

Fuxingmen Fuxingmen () is the name of a gate that used to be a part of Beijing's old city wall. It is also the name of a road situated in central Beijing and on the northwestern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road. Origin Fuxingmen means "Gate of Revival". An ...

on the

Chang'an Avenue file:50th anniversary of PRC 1.jpg, 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are armoured fighting vehicles leaving Tian'anmen Square during the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, 1999 National Day parade. Chang'an ...

. Although only Chinese characters are used, the characters themselves are coloured red, yellow or green according to the type of message. This and the map displays make it somewhat easier for non-Chinese speakers to understand.

Links to expressways

The

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 ...

is linked to (from the side road) at

. A direct ramp connection from both directions to the Airport Expressway was finished in 2006. The Jingkai Expressway is easily accessible by proceeding south to the complex-and-impressive Caihuying overpass. There are no direct connections from the 2nd Ring Road to the

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 ...

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 ...

, or

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 ...

. It is possible to get to the Jingshi Expressway by heading southwest at

. Jianguomen links via

Jianguomen Outer Street Jianguomen Outer Street, also transliterated as Jianguomen Wai Avenue () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. It runs from Jianguomen Bridge in the west through to Guomao on the east. It runs thro ...

to the

Jingtong Expressway Jingtong () is a locale in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Originally a coal mining town, today it is known mostly for tourism, with numerous souvenir shops and exhibits on the history of the area and the coal mining industry. Tourist ...

and ultimately the

Jingha Expressway Jingha may refer to: *Jingha Expressway, expressway in China that links Beijing to Harbin *Jingha railway, railway in China that connects Beijing with Harbin {{Disambig ...

List of exits

eading in a clockwise direction as of the Northern 2nd Ring Road Notes: * Exits present only in a clockwise direction are indicated by the symbol ↩; anticlockwise only, ↪; not yet open, ✕ * Exit sign symbols: ↗ = exit (✕ = unopened)

North 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ Beitaipingzhuang, Xinjiekou (Jishuitan Bridge) * ↗ Madian ''-- connects to direct road to

'' (

Bridge) * ↗ Anhua Bridge ( Gulou Bridge, Zhonglou North Bridge) * ↗ Jiangzhaikou (

Bridge) * ↗ Yonghegong, Beixinqiao ( Yonghegong Bridge) * ↗ Hepingli (Xiaojie Bridge) * ↗ Airport Expressway

East 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ Nongzhan Bridge, Beixinqiao (

Bridge) * ↗ Changhong Bridge, Kuanjie ( Dongsishitiao Bridge) * ↗

Dongdaqiao Dongdaqiao () is a station on Line 6 of the Beijing Subway. This station opened on December 30, 2012. Station layout The station has an underground island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre plat ...

(

Bridge) * ↗ Dongdan, Guomao Bridge (Jianguomen Bridge) * ↗ ( Dongbianmen Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial Religious Confucianism, religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and ...

( Guangming Bridge)

South 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ ( Zuo'anmen Bridge) * ↗

(

Puhuangyu Puhuangyu Station () is an interchange station, interchange subway station between Line 5, Beijing Subway, Line 5 and Line 14, Beijing Subway, Line 14 of the Beijing Subway. Line 14 station was opened on December 26, 2015. The name Puhuangyu com ...

/ Yuting Bridge) * ↗ ( Jingtai Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗ ( Taoran Bridge) * ↗ ( Kaiyang Bridge) * ↗ ( You'anmen Bridge) * ↗ Jingkai Expressway, Lize Bridge ( Caihuying Bridge)

West 2nd Ring Road

* ↗ ( Baizhifang Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗ ( Tianningsi Bridge, Xibianmen Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗ (

Yuetan The Temple of the Moon () is an altar located in Fuchengmen, Xicheng District, in western Beijing, People's Republic of China, China. The altar was built in 1530 during the Ming Dynasty for use in ritual sacrifice to the Moon by the Emperor of Ch ...

South Bridge,

North Bridge) * ↗ (

Bridge) * ↗ ( Guanyuan Bridge) * ↗ ( Xizhimen Bridge)

References

{{coord, 39, 53, 53, N, 116, 23, 12, E, region:CN-11_type:landmark, display=title Road transport in Beijing Ring roads in China