Henan Joins 5 Chinese Provinces with Over 10,000 km of Expressways

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Henan Province in central China completed 17 expressway projects this year, surpassing a total highway network of 10,000 kilometers and becoming the fifth province in the country to reach this milestone.

With the opening of the 15.2-kilometer Jingwu Yellow River Bridge today, the Anyang-Luoshan Expressway in Henan is now fully connected, bringing the province’s total freeway length to 10,088 kilometers, according to the provincial Department of Transportation on social media.

Prior to Henan, only four regions in China had exceeded the 10,000-kilometer mark: Guangdong province in the south, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.

At the end of last year, Henan’s expressway network was just 8,962 kilometers. However, significant growth has occurred this year with the completion of 17 new highways, including the Along The Yellow River Expressway.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Henan invested approximately 375.6 billion yuan (around 53.7 billion USD) in expressway development. The province added over 2,900 kilometers of new roads — more than three times the total added during the previous Five-Year Plan, as announced at a press conference in October.

As the current planning period concludes, provinces across China are actively working to reach their infrastructure goals, with major projects progressing rapidly.

The Yangchun-Xinyi Expressway in southern Guangdong province opened to traffic on December 28, completing the tenth highway project of the year with over 400 kilometers of roadway. This development pushes the province’s total freeway network to more than 12,000 kilometers, making it the nation’s largest.

Sichuan province finished 13 expressway projects this month, adding approximately 900 kilometers of road this year, bringing its total to around 11,000 kilometers.

Other provinces are nearing the 10,000-kilometer benchmark. Southwestern Guizhou is projected to reach approximately 9,563 kilometers by the year’s end, while eastern Shandong has already exceeded 9,240 kilometers.