China road numbering

Roads in the People's Republic of China are numbered G, S or X, and four different categories (not including expressways and express routes) exist:

Non-expressways and non-express routes

File:Yichang-Hubei-S334-7km-4827.jpg

A typical kilometer marker on a provincial road (Hubei's S334; distance is measured from Yichang center city)

• G routes stand for Guodao, or China National Highways. These roads often exist to liaise between different centres.
• S routes stand for Shengdao, or provincial roads.
• X routes stand for Xiandao, or county-level roads.
• A rank below them are the xiangdao, or township-level roads.

G, S, and X roads often become city roads as of the delimitation of the city. At the city border, control of the road switches from the gonglu side (public road administration) to the shizheng side (city government).

Expressways and express routes

Expressways of China use a new numbering. The labelling of the former three digit 0-series G routes (e.g. G020) was replaced by a system that uses one digit for expressways starting in Beijing (e.g. G5), two digits for long-distance expressways (e.g. G30) and four digits for regional and local expressways (e.g. G9411).

See also

• China National Highways