Challenges of car traffic in Beijing.

Essay by KeirCollege, Undergraduate December 2005

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Beijing's Recent History of Development.

Beijing can be viewed as an enclosed system towards the rest of the country. With the beginning of the open-door policy under Deng Xiao Ping in 1979, domestic development set off like a bush fire, starting from the Guangdong Province in the 80's (Zhujiang Triangle). In the 90's, ten years later, Shanghai started to develop (Zhangjian Triangle). Then only in the past 10 years major development took place in Beijing (the Jingjin area).

Beijing's development in terms of infrastructure was bad and did not occur in such a well-planned fashion as the first two provinces. Shanghai and Guangdong had more time to develop bit by bit with foreign consolidation. Beijing on the other hand had to cope with high rates of urbanization in a very short time period and was put under lots of pressure by the central government. This pressure didn't mainly come from the major influx in people, the lack of coordination or the main pull factors of a primate city but the deep-rooted need of the Chinese people to portrait their nationalistic pride into their capital city.

It's just that Chinese people are driven quite a lot by a strong patriotic sentiment and with the upcoming 2008 Olympics, in what better way could the advancement of their nation be portrayed better than in their capital city?

Reacting to the major increase in population and the enormous growth of the town, Beijing City in connection with the central government took administrative measures and created the greater municipality of Beijing:

Beijing not just a Capital City

Beijing has between 13 and 16 million people within 16,808 sq.km. Beijing isn't just a usual city but a municipality on the same level as a province, with its mayor having the same rank like a minister from...