The wave of construction for airports, high-speed railways and high-speed railway stations is coming.
Recently, eight departments including the Ministry of Transport, the National Railway Administration, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China jointly issued the *15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Comprehensive Transportation Hubs*.
This plan is the top-level design for all types of transportation construction plans and urban transportation positioning in the five-year period from 2026 to 2030. All approvals for transportation plans within the five years will take this as the blueprint.
01
Classification of Transportation Status Levels of Urban Agglomerations
First, here is the result: The first tier includes Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu-Chongqing. The second tier covers the Middle Yangtze River and Central Plains. The third tier consists of other urban agglomerations.
The Plan mentions at the very beginning: By 2030, the modern comprehensive transportation hub system will be improved at an accelerated pace. The level of open and coordinated operation of hub clusters will be significantly enhanced. The global agglomeration and radiation capacity of the international comprehensive transportation hub clusters of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle will be further strengthened, and several national comprehensive transportation hub clusters will be built.
This paragraph sets out the overall construction goals for the next five years. Compared with the 14th Five-Year Plan, there is no big difference in the expression. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu-Chongqing remain the four urban agglomerations with the highest transportation positioning.
The four urban agglomerations are located in North China, East China, South China and West China respectively, forming the most important fulcrums of China's transportation network, and serving as the transportation hubs for the flow of various production factors between China and the rest of the world.
In the next five years, efforts will be made to further empower and improve the radiation capacity of these four major international comprehensive transportation hub clusters.
The Plan states: Nurture the Middle Yangtze River hub cluster. Upgrade the functions of Wuhan, Changsha, Nanchang regional aviation hubs and Ezhou specialized air cargo hub, and strengthen collaborative operation. Jointly build the Wuhan Middle Yangtze River Shipping Center, strengthen the along-river cargo sharing cooperation, share shipping schedule arrangements, increase river-sea combined transport routes, jointly launch international direct shipping routes, and ensure the stable operation of public container liner routes. Optimize China-Europe (Asia) freight train routes.
Nurture the Central Plains hub cluster. Build a "millet-shaped" transportation corridor centered on Zhengzhou and radiating other cities in the cluster. Study and construct the China Post Zhengzhou Air Logistics Hub, and improve the air cargo network at the core node of the Belt and Road Initiative. Nurture rail-sea intermodal transport routes, and expand the international road transport (TIR) services from Zhengzhou to ASEAN, Central Asia and Europe.
Under the transportation positioning of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Chengdu-Chongqing, there are the two urban agglomerations of the Middle Yangtze River and Central Plains. This expression did not appear during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, which means that the transportation positioning of the two major urban agglomerations of the Middle Yangtze River and Central Plains has been significantly raised this time.
The national transportation pattern has changed from the original four-pole pattern to the "4+2" pattern, and the two major urban agglomerations of the Middle Yangtze River and Central Plains jointly fill the gap in the central region.
Moreover, compared with the 14th Five-Year transportation plan, the 15th Five-Year Plan only explicitly mentions these 6 urban agglomerations, and does not mention other urban agglomerations such as Guanzhong Plain, Beibu Gulf, Harbin-Changchun, Central Liaoning, Central Guizhou, Central Yunnan, Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin, Lanzhou-Xining, and Ningxia Yellow River Coast.
The change in expression clearly shows that in the top-level design, North China, East China, South China, West China and Central China form the core of China's transportation network, and the rest of the urban agglomerations serve to supplement and improve the transportation network.
02
Classification of Urban Comprehensive Transportation Status Levels
Similarly, here is the result first.
The first tier: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou. The second tier: Shenzhen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Xi'an, Urumqi, Harbin.
The third tier: Tianjin, Shenyang, Dalian, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Haikou, etc. The fourth tier: Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Hohhot, Changchun, Ningbo, Hefei, Fuzhou, Nanchang-Jiujiang, Jinan, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Nanning, Guiyang, Lhasa, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan, etc.
The titles granted to the first, second and third categories are all international comprehensive transportation hub cities, and the fourth category is national comprehensive transportation hub cities.
The Plan states: Consolidate and enhance the international gateway functions of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and strengthen their intercontinental connectivity capacity and global radiation power.
In the top-level transportation design, there are only three cities with the highest status: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. This is beyond dispute. The three cities rank top 3 nationwide in terms of strength, no matter in terms of foreign air transportation, high-speed rail transportation with other provinces and cities, or urban rail transit.
The so-called international gateway refers to the import and export for foreign exchanges, with a focus on aviation. From the perspective of the number of international routes, the number of international routes of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou among mainland cities all exceeds 100, leading far ahead of other cities.
In addition, the second and third categories are also titled as international comprehensive transportation hubs, so the proportion of aviation strength in the evaluation weight is also larger. Or it can be directly understood that the ranking is basically based on aviation strength.
03
About Airport Construction
According to the plan, the airports to be completed and put into operation in the next five years are: Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport and Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport will be completed and put into use. At the same time, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport and Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport will be closed, just as Qingdao Liuting Airport was closed after Qingdao Jiaodong Airport was opened.
The airports under accelerated construction in the next five years are: Guangzhou New Airport (located in Foshan) and Nantong New Airport (Shanghai Third Airport) will be built at an accelerated pace. Guangzhou New Airport was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission at the end of 2025, and construction started in March this year, which is expected to be put into operation at the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. By then, Guangzhou will become the fourth mainland city with dual airports after Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu.
The main reason why Guangzhou Second Airport is located in Foshan is to serve the aviation demand of Guangzhou urban agglomeration, and such cases are not uncommon. For example, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is not located within the jurisdiction of Xi'an, but in Xianyang City. Xining Caojiabao Airport is not in Xining but in Haidong City, and Lhasa Gonggar Airport is not in Lhasa but in Shannan Prefecture.
In addition, Shanghai Third Airport is not located in Shanghai either, but in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. The Nantong municipal government officially announced in the first half of this year that Nantong New Airport will start construction next year. After it is opened, Shanghai will become the only city in China with three large civil aviation transport airports.
The reason why Nantong New Airport is called Shanghai Third Airport mainly lies in two points: First, Nantong New Airport, no matter in terms of strategic positioning, equity control or integrated operation, belongs to the third main airport of Shanghai International Aviation Hub. Second, from the perspective of equity structure, Shanghai-Suzhou Nantong New Airport Construction and Investment Co., Ltd. has been officially registered, which is a joint venture established by Shanghai Airport Group and Nantong Urban Construction Group. Among them, Shanghai Airport Group holds 51% of the shares, and Nantong Urban Construction Group holds 49% of the shares.
The airports whose preliminary research will be accelerated in the next five years are: Chongqing New Airport (Bishan Zhengxing) and Sanya New Airport.
Chongqing New Airport is worth emphasizing. As early as during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, it was announced that Chongqing Second Airport would start construction, and the site selection had been approved. After completing this step, there is basically no suspense for Chongqing Second Airport to start construction, but two more steps are needed before the actual start of construction. It still needs the project proposal approval from the Central Military Commission; after the approval of the Military Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission will give approval; after the approval, the groundbreaking ceremony can be held.
When the construction was about to start, the current description of Chongqing New Airport is: promote the preliminary work of Chongqing New Airport. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, it was said that construction would start and the site selection was approved, but now the expression is to promote the preliminary work, and this change is thought-provoking. The core reason may be the competition for aviation resources between Sichuan and Chongqing.
But there are also objective reasons, that is, Chongqing Jiangbei Airport has completed the expansion, so the second airport is not that urgent. At the end of 2024, the fourth runway of Jiangbei Airport was put into use; in April 2025, the T3B terminal was officially put into use. So far, Jiangbei Airport has formed an operation pattern of 3 terminals + 1 satellite hall + 4 runways.
The terminal support capacity of the airport has been directly increased to an annual passenger throughput of 80 million passengers, 1.2 million tons of cargo and mail, and 580,000 aircraft movements. The actual passenger throughput of Jiangbei Airport in 2025 was 50.09 million passengers. That is to say, Jiangbei Airport still has a design capacity space of nearly 30 million passengers at present. This should be the most realistic constraint why Chongqing Second Airport has not entered the construction stage for a long time.
The airports to be renovated and expanded in the next five years are: Shanghai Pudong Airport, Chengdu Tianfu Airport, Nanjing Lukou Airport, Ningbo Lishe Airport, Shenyang Taoxian Airport, Changchun Longjia Airport, Shenzhen Bao'an Airport, Tianjin Binhai Airport, Hefei Xinqiao Airport, etc.
Among them, Shenzhen Bao'an, Tianjin Binhai and Hefei Xinqiao mainly focus on upgrading their cargo hub capabilities.
The Chengdu municipal government previously stated that the phase II expansion project of Chengdu Tianfu Airport will strive to start construction before 2028, and open more international routes. Chengdu Tianfu Airport was only opened in 2021, why is it going to expand phase II so soon? The main reason is that the current passenger flow of Tianfu Airport is almost reaching the phase I design upper limit.
Tianfu International Airport currently has two terminals and three runways, with a designed passenger throughput of 60 million passengers. When it was put into operation, the passenger throughput of Tianfu International Airport was 4.35 million passengers. In 2025, it reached 56.68 million passengers, ranking fifth among mainland airports.
The most critical point is that the passenger flow of 56.68 million passengers is approaching the phase I design capacity of 60 million passengers. The number of flight movements is also approaching the carrying limit of supporting facilities. Therefore, it is the right time to propose the construction of phase II.
Finally, it has to be mentioned that the airport that Suzhou has been eagerly looking forward to is still not mentioned at all in the plan.
04
About High-speed Railway and High-speed Railway Station Construction
The Plan states: During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the national operating railway mileage will increase by 15,000 kilometers, of which the high-speed railway will increase by about 10,000 kilometers. By 2030, the high-speed railway operating mileage will reach about 60,000 kilometers, and the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway main corridors will be basically completed.
The key lines to be constructed in the next five years are as follows.
The top priority project is the Yangtze River High-speed Railway. The Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu Yangtze River High-speed Railway is also in full swing construction. Like the second Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, this line is also composed of multiple sections, which is part of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" system. It starts from Shanghai, passes through Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, and ends at Chengdu Station in Sichuan, running through 4 provinces and 2 municipalities directly under the central government. The total length of the line is about 2100 kilometers, which is expected to be fully completed before 2030.
Regarding the construction of high-speed railway stations, the stations that have started construction during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and will be put into operation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period include: Shanghai East Railway Station, Shanghai Baoshan Station, Shenzhen Xili Station, Nanjing North Station, Suzhou North Station, Xi'an East Station, Chengdu Tianfu Station, etc. In addition, there are more than 20 high-speed railway stations in small and medium-sized cities under construction along the Yangtze River High-speed Railway, such as Lezhi Station. Among them, Xi'an East Station has been opened this year along with the Xi'an-Shiyan High-speed Railway.
Shanghai is constructing two high-speed railway stations, one is the East Station, and the other is Baoshan Station.
Shanghai East Station is expected to be completed in 2027, with 15 platforms and 30 tracks. After completion, it will become the second largest high-speed railway station in Shanghai after Hongqiao Station. Baoshan Station adopts the Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu yard (4 platforms and 8 tracks on the elevated floor) and Shanghai-Nantong yard (4 platforms and 10 tracks on the underground floor). Nanjing is also building Nanjing North Station, a super hub with 16 platforms and 30 tracks, whose scale and number of platforms exceed the existing Nanjing South Station, which is expected to be completed and put into use in 2027.
Shenzhen is also constructing Shenzhen Xili High-speed Railway Station, whose scale and number of platforms exceed Shenzhen North Station. After completion, it will become the largest high-speed railway station in Shenzhen. Suzhou North Station is under renovation and expansion, and will have 10 platforms and 24 tracks after completion. Chengdu Tianfu Station is designed with 12 platforms and 24 tracks, and will be opened in 2027 along with the Chengdu-Chongqing Central Line High-speed Railway.
05
China-Europe Freight Trains: From 5 Nodes to 14 Collection Centers
The so-called China-Europe freight train is the land transport corridor connecting China with Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The China-Europe freight train is one of the important strategies for China's foreign transport in the past years and in the future.
Its birth background is the change of global political climate. In the face of the complex and changeable international environment, China is laying out multiple foreign transport corridors.
From a global perspective, China has established three major north, central and south corridors connected by China-Europe freight trains, which serve as the arteries connecting China, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe for the exchange of goods, technology, talents and culture.
The first one is the north corridor, which mainly connects Mongolia, Russia and Belarus through railway ports such as Erenhot and Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia, China, and reaches other European countries via Poland. The second one is the central corridor, which mainly connects Kazakhstan through Alashankou and Horgos railway ports in Xinjiang, and meets the north corridor in Moscow. The third one exits from Xinjiang, connects Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Turkey, and then crosses the Black Sea strait to Europe.
In addition, the cooperation with Pakistan to build a port at Gwadar Port is a backup maritime transport route for the Malacca Strait.
China-Europe freight trains are also enhancing the security of China's goods import and export routes. On March 19, 2011, the first international freight train from Chongqing to Duisburg, Germany, was launched on a trial basis, making Chongqing the first city to open China-Europe freight trains. After that, cities including Xi'an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Urumqi, Wuhan, Yiwu and Guangzhou also opened China-Europe freight trains one after another.
In 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a