TAIYUAN — The section of the Beijing-Urumqi Expressway in North China’s Shanxi province opened to traffic on April 23, marking the full operation of the expressway, the provincial transport authorities said April 24.

According to the Department of Transportation of Shanxi province, the Shanxi section, measuring 8.885 km, is a crucial part of the G7 Expressway (from Beijing to Urumqi, capital of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region).

With a speed limit of 100 km per hour, the section in Shanxi starts from Tianzhen county in the city of Datong, where the expressway links the Hebei section of the G7 Expressway and ends at Xinghe county in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The Beijing-Urumqi Expressway stretching across the North and Northwest of China will boost the exploitation of regional mineral resources and tourism.

The operation of the Beijing-Urumqi Expressway is of great significance to further improve the national main road network and effectively alleviate the congestion on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway.

It will provide a new channel for coal transportation from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, as well as the flow of passengers, logistics and information.

It will also provide solid traffic support for Shanxi province to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative while helping the inland region open up to the outside world.