FX.co ★ Top-10 China projects that can change world

The most global China project is the Asian Highway Network. The Great Asian Highway is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), to improve the highway systems in Asia. It is one of the three pillars of the Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development (ALTID) project, endorsed by the ESCAP commission at its 48th session in 1992, comprising Asian Highway, Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) and facilitation of land transport projects. The Asian Highway network is a network of 150,000 kilometers of standardized roadways crisscrossing 32 Asian countries with linkages to Europe. A total of US$26 billion has already been invested in the improvement and upgrading of the Asian Highway network. However, there is still a shortfall of US$18 billion. UNESCAP secretariat is now working with its member countries to identify financial sources for the development of the network to improve their road transport capacity and efficiency.

Shanghai high-speed railway is considered to be one of the most impressive projects in China. The Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway (or Jinghu High-Speed Railway from its Chinese name) is a 1,318-kilometer(819 mi) long high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China, the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta. Construction began on April 18, 2008, and a ceremony to mark the completion of track laying was held on November 15, 2010. The line opened to the public for commercial service on June 30, 2011. This rail line is the world's longest high-speed line ever constructed in a single phase. Experts believe that other countries will certainly build something similar in the nearest future.

High-speed railway between the cities of Harbin and Dalian with a budget of $14 billion is also one of Chinese high-tech project. Construction work began on August 23, 2007 and the first commercial services began operating in December 1, 2012, nearly one year behind schedule. The line is the world's first alpine high-speed railway operating at high latitudes and low temperatures in winter. Under the winter timetable, the 921 km journey from Dalian to Harbin takes five hours eighteen minutes. In summer, the higher speeds reduce the journey time to just three and a half hours.

Today, Shanghai is recognized to become the largest cargo port in the world. East China's Shanghai Port will likely register a cargo turnover of 443 million tons this year, ready to outperform Singapore to become the top cargo port in the world. The forecast was made recently by the Shanghai harbor administration on the basis of statistics about Shanghai Port's cargo turnover for the past 10 months, which amounted to 363 million tons. By 2005, the Yangshan deep water port was built on the Yangshan islands, a group of islands in Hangzhou Bay, linked to Shanghai by the Donghai Bridge. This development allowed the port to overcome shallow water conditions in its current location, and to rival another deep-water port, the nearby Ningbo-Zhoushan port.

Wenchang Satellite Launch Center located near Wenchang City on the north-east coast of Hainan Island, is a former sub-orbital test center and currently under upgrade. It is the fourth and southernmost space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) of the People's Republic of China. It has been specially selected for its lowest latitude, only 19 degrees north of the equator, which would allow a substantial increase of payload mass, necessary for the future manned program, space station and deep space exploration program. In 2017, it is planned to launch the Chang'e-5 space machine with the lunar mission. Chinese scientists are in the course of developing a recoverable lunar robotic spacecraft Chang'e 5 that is to reach the Moon by 2017 with a mission to deliver samples of rock and soil back to Earth.

The Xiluodu Dam is an arch dam on the Jinsha River, i.e. the upper course of the Yangtze in China. It is located near the town of Xiluodu in Yongshan County of Yunnan Province. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW. Additionally, the dam provides for flood control, silt control and its regulated water releases are intended to improve navigation downstream. Construction on the dam and power station began in 2005 and the first generator was commissioned in 2013, the last in 2014. The construction was estimated at $6,76 billion. It is operated by China Yangtze Power and is currently the third-largest power station with the fourth-tallest dam in the world.

Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is a commercial development in Shenzhen, China also known as Qianhai New District. Located in Nanshan and encircled by Shuangjie River, Yueliangwan Boulevard, Mawan Boulevard and Qianhai Bay, Qianhai covers an area of approximately 15 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi), comprising almost entirely reclaimed land. The project is expected to be completed by 2020.

China is also famous for its airports. For example, Kunming Changshui International Airport is the primary airport serving Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, China. The airport is located 24.5 km (15.2 mi) northeast of the city center in a graded mountainous area about 2,100 m (6,900 ft) above sea level. The airport opened in 2012, replacing the old Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, which will be demolished. The new airport has two runways (versus the single runway at Wujiaba), and handled 37,523,345 passengers in 2015, making it one of the 50 busiest airports in the world by passenger traffic, the first time it earned this distinction. In 2020, it is expected to handle 43 million passengers.

One of the most expensive buildings in China is the Shanghai Tower. More than $2.4 billion was spent on its construction. The Shanghai Tower, reaching 632 meters, is the third “supertall” tower on the city's iconic skyline. Looking out from the 119th floor, the city lies below like a toy model, a densely packed mass of streets and high-rise buildings.

The world's largest radio telescope has began operating in southwestern China, a project which Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life.


China has fitted the final piece on what will be the world's largest radio telescope, due to begin operations in September. The mega telescope will explore space and search for signs of intelligent life. The 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) science mega-project is named after its huge dimensions: the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST.