ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the development and organization of China's transport system. It examines the emergence of a comprehensive, multi-modal transport system. The chapter discusses some of the institutional and economic factors driving transport development. Since reform and opening-up, China's transport facilities and transport technologies have improved greatly as a result of constant transformation and new construction. As urbanization and incomes increased, the number of motor vehicles mushroomed nationwide placing immense pressure on urban transport systems and the socio-metric efficiency of cities. Since the 1950s, China's transport management system has undergone a series of revolutions at the centre of which was the change from the 'Small Ministry System' to the 'Super Ministry System'. The global shipping network status of Chinese ports increased rapidly. For a long while, decentralization gave governments at different levels different rights and obligations for planning, construction and management, and different transport property rights, affecting the size and arrangement of transport networks.
