Zhejiang Transportation Group Builds a "Road to Common Prosperity" : Mountains and seas are no longer far away, and characteristic industries thrive with the help of the trend

To get rich, build roads first. In the land of Zhejiang, a comprehensive transportation network that is increasingly dense and highly interconnected is unfolding and extending at an unprecedented speed and intensity, profoundly reshaping the regional development pattern and continuously injecting impetus into the high-quality development and construction of a common prosperity demonstration zone in Zhejiang.

Crossing mountains and seas, connecting urban and rural areas. From the coast of the East China Sea to the lofty mountains of western Zhejiang, the roads and railways are not only physical channels but have also become the most powerful arteries for Zhejiang to strive to narrow the "three major gaps" of regional disparity, urban-rural disparity and income disparity. As the main force in the province's transportation construction and development, Zhejiang Transportation Group has been making continuous efforts during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. As of the end of October this year, it has completed a total investment of 385.067 billion yuan in transportation infrastructure, an increase of over 30% compared with the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. It has added 344 kilometers of main expressways, completed the expansion and renovation of 137 kilometers, and added 1,086 kilometers of railways. Among them, approximately 83 billion yuan was invested in mountainous and island counties. A series of landmark projects such as the Jingwen Expressway, the second phase of the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway expansion and renovation project, the Jintai Railway, and the Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway were successively completed, contributing to Zhejiang's realization of "highway access to every county", "high-speed rail access to every city on land", and a "one-hour transportation circle" on land.

Mountains and seas are no longer far away; the transformation of accessibility benefits both urban and rural areas

The pattern of "seven mountains, one water and two parts farmland" once restricted the coordinated development of the inland and coastal areas of Zhejiang. Breaking down barriers, "transportation first" has become an inevitable choice.

The Gaolingtou Reservoir Special Bridge on Jingwen Expressway.

Opening up the transportation map of Zhejiang Province, the Longliwen Expressway is like a giant dragon, winding and twisting among the mountains in the southwest of Zhejiang. In 2023, with the completion and opening of the Jingwen Expressway, it marked the full completion and opening of the Longliwen Expressway, which has been under construction for 20 years and led by Zhejiang Transportation Group with an investment of 52 billion yuan. It is 476 kilometers long and connects 11 counties and cities including Suichang, Songyang and Taishun, injecting impetus into the development of prosperous industries and rural revitalization in the mountainous areas of southwest Zhejiang.

By the end of 2021, the main channel of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port was fully connected. A huge bridge chain like a dragon leaped between the islands. Among them, the Zhoushan-Daishan Bridge bid farewell to Daishan Island's history as the last county in Zhejiang Province without a highway. "Getting on the expressway at Daishan Toll Station, you can get out with just one step on the gas. It saves one-third of the time compared to taking a ferry. It's much more convenient for life and work." " Chen Yongwei, a resident of Daishan, expressed his feelings, which represented the voices of the islanders. Data shows that since the project was opened to traffic, the total number of vehicles entering and leaving the Daishan Toll Station has been approximately 13.6 million, brimming with vitality.

A train on the Jintai Railway in motion.

The railway network is also being encrypted simultaneously. In June 2021, the opening of the Jintai Railway ended the history of Xianju and Pan 'an having no railway. This first electrified railway independently constructed and operated in Zhejiang Province has spared no expense in increasing investment and building super-long tunnels to reach Pan 'an, demonstrating the determination to promote prosperity through transportation.

From realizing the dream of having expressways accessible to every county to making rapid progress in the provincial "one-hour transportation circle", Zhejiang Transportation Group is moving forward at full speed. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway has injected new speed and passion into the development of Pujiang, Dongyang, Pan 'an and Xianju. The Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou high-speed railway has enabled Shengzhou, Xinchang and Tiantai to enter the high-speed rail era at one stroke, jointly composing a magnificent chapter of Zhejiang's high-speed rail network evolving from "lines" to "networks" and becoming increasingly dense.

The denser the road network becomes, the more characteristic industries thrive

After the backbone major channels are opened up, the construction of a meticulous network becomes even more crucial. The interchange hubs of expressways closely connect the "major arteries" with the "capillaries", forming a "golden channel" that drives coordinated regional development.

Jingning, the only She autonomous county in the country, was first connected to the national expressway network after the Yunjing Expressway was opened to traffic in 2013. However, some remote towns and townships are still trapped by the mountains. Yan Ting, a member of the Party Committee of da 漈 Township, recalled, "In the past, no matter from which direction one came to da 漈 village, it took more than two hours to walk along the rough mountain road, which deterred many tourists." With the completion and opening to traffic of Jingwen Expressway, da 漈 Township has ushered in a turning point for development. It takes only half an hour by car from Dongkeng Interchange to reach this hidden paradise in the mountains. As the filming location of the popular game "Black Myth: Wukong", the town of da漈 has quickly transformed its online popularity into real tourism popularity. In 2024, the grand 漈 scenic area received 1.7235 million visitors and achieved operating income of 18.7566 million yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 33.75% and 28.64% respectively. The "traffic flow" brought by transportation is steadily transforming into the "retained volume" for development.

The Xiaojiang Hub of the Ruicang Expressway Project under construction.

The accessibility of expressways not only connects the scattered gems along the route, attracting tourists from all directions, but also extends the logistics network to the "last mile" of rural areas, enabling high-quality local agricultural products to successfully "go out". The Ruicang Expressway, which is scheduled to be completed this year, passes through Pingyang, known as the "Hometown of Chinese Yellow Tea". It will end the history of about 400,000 people in the western part of the county having no expressway, greatly facilitating the rapid export of Pingyang yellow tea and paving a path to common prosperity for the mountainous area residents.

The large-scale investment and development of transportation have significantly enhanced the interconnection and intercommunication levels in mountainous and island counties. The second phase of the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway expansion and renovation project has added interchanges such as Longyou Port, Qujiang, and Kecheng to the mountainous areas of Quzhou, strengthening the inland main artery. The Jingwen Expressway has added four interchanges including Jingning South and Wencheng South to the mountainous areas of Wenzhou and Lishui, improving the regional transportation network. Most importantly, the main channel project has successfully connected five islands in Zhoushan's sea area, namely Fuchi Island, Zhoushan Main Island, Changbai Island, Daishan Island and Yushan Island, forming an efficient island transportation closed loop and laying a solid foundation for the coordinated development of the region.

Serve the dual circulation, maintain internal smoothness and external connectivity to the world

The integrated transportation network is increasingly improved, and the connections between nodes are becoming smoother, providing strong support for building a new development pattern.

With the advancement of the Lishui section of the Yilongqing Expressway and the Quzhou-Lishui Railway, the mountainous city in the southwest of Zhejiang Province is embracing new opportunities.

Take the Longquan celadon industry as an example. The products of nearly a hundred manufacturers such as Longquan Yongjian Ceramics have gone global, and the cost and efficiency of logistics are of vital importance. After the completion of the Lishui section of the Yilongqing Expressway, it will be deeply integrated into the multimodal transport model constructed by Longquan, forming a second rapid passage to the Yiwu International Land Port. It is expected that the logistics time between Lishui and Yiwu will be reduced by approximately one hour, and the overall logistics cost is likely to drop by about 30%, significantly facilitating the overseas expansion of "mountainous area manufacturing".

Meanwhile, the Quzhou-Lishui Railway has provided strong railway transportation capacity support for products from Suichang and other places. Goods can be quickly connected to the China-Europe Railway Express through Quzhou Hub or arrive at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, opening up a new safe and efficient international logistics channel.

The Yilongqing Expressway and the Quzhou-Lishui Railway, one "road" and the other "railway", complement each other and jointly weave a golden logistics corridor connecting the inside and outside of the southwestern part of Zhejiang Province. This aggregation effect is being magnified. The under-construction Ningbo-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway will significantly reduce the travel time from Quzhou and other places to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in the future. The newly started Hangzhou-Chunzhou-Kaihua Expressway provides a rapid passage for ecological areas such as Chun 'an in Hangzhou and Kaihua in Quzhou to transform their "green mountains and clear waters" into "mountains of gold and silver".

From the opening of cross-sea Bridges to the realization of expressways in mountainous areas, and then to the formation of a railway network, they have jointly built new channels for internal and external connectivity. The continuously extending transportation arteries in Zhejiang have made the picture of common prosperity in Zhejiang increasingly clear and three-dimensional. With the further improvement of the modern comprehensive transportation system that ensures "convenient travel for people and smooth flow of goods", Zhejiang's mountain-sea cooperation will reach a deeper level, and the integration of urban and rural areas will present a more beautiful picture. With its solid and dense strength, it is supporting the land of Zhejiang to steadily move towards a broader and more profound future on the journey of common prosperity and Chinese-style modernization.