China is rolling out a national network of integrated intelligent vehicles, smart roads and real-time cloud technologies as the country ramps up smart city and urban digitalization efforts
Five ministries, including the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology and the Ministry of Transport issued a joint statement last week identifying 20 cities or urban agglomerations, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as pilot areas for the application of the intelligent network, the state-run Xinhua news agency reports.
Expanding autonomous driving
Last month, Beijing expanded its designated autonomous driving zone from 160 sq km to 600 sq km.
More than 400 road intersections and 10 km of expressways in the area have been equipped with roadside intelligent facilities and a dedicated smart city network.
Since late June, passengers traveling between Beijing Daxing International Airport and Yizhuang, a southern district of Beijing, could choose to travel in driverless robotaxis, with just a few clicks on their mobile phones.
The robotaxis are operating under the supervision of safety drivers behind the wheel but nevertheless can travel the 40km journey autonomously, even passing through toll gates.
The commercialization of self-driving technology marks a significant breakthrough for Beijing’s smart city credentials, Xinhua said.
Improving traffic safety and efficiency
Yizhuang initiated an autonomous driving demonstration area in 2020.
Its intelligent road system can sense traffic conditions using holographic smart devices, while multifunctional poles positioned along the road transmit computational data to vehicles and real-time cloud systems.
Thanks to vehicle-road collaboration technology, cars receive optimal travel solutions, significantly improving traffic safety and efficiency.
Zhai Qian, deputy director of the city operation bureau in Yizhuang, said: “With the construction of the roadside sensing system, the traffic lights at the intersections in Yizhuang can now be dynamically adjusted 110 times a day according to the traffic flow.
“Despite a 20% increase in local traffic volume last year, the average vehicle speed has risen by more than 15%.”
Ramping up communication infrastructure
By the end of May, China had built over 3.83m 5G base stations, accounting for over 60% of the global total, according to the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology.
Figures from the World Intellectual Property Organization show 54,000 generative AI patent applications were filed globally in the past decade. China filed over 38,000, putting it first in the world.
“Without the development of communication infrastructure and intelligent computing technology, these intelligent interconnections cannot be realized,” Chen Fengxian, a senior analyst at China Telecom Research Institute, told Xinhua.
Intelligent flood defences
In addition to playing an increasingly important role in smart travel and addressing “big city diseases” such as traffic congestion and environmental pollution, digital technology is also reshaping the emergency management mechanisms of Chinese cities.
Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, has launched an intelligent flood prevention and rescue system.
The collaborative application system connects over 2,800 automatic weather stations and 32 hydrographic stations in the Jialing River basin, enabling real-time big-data monitoring of rain and water conditions across the entire basin.
Additionally, it uses three-dimensional modeling of buildings along the river to accurately delineate disaster areas, facilitating the evacuation of local residents in case of emergency.
Addressing bottlenecks in smart city development
In May, China launched a guide on promoting the development of smart cities and urban digital transformation to make urban management smarter.
By 2027, China expects to see significant progress in the digital transformation of urban areas and will have built a number of smart cities that are more livable and resilient, it said.
“Challenges always come hand-in-hand with opportunities,” Chen said.
“This policy will further address the bottlenecks in China’s smart city development.”
