Earthprints: Beijing

Earthprints: Beijing

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The commute for millions of people living in and around Beijing is a daily grind that is ever more time-consuming, costly and crowded as residents dodge, push and elbow their way onto buses and subways.

And there is no immediate relief in sight in a city that has more than 21 million residents and is growing fast.

Indeed, expansion over the next 15 years will put the Chinese capital at the centre of a new mega-city, as it integrates with the port city of Tianjin and neighbouring Hebei province, officials say. Current estimates of the population in the combined area is around 110 million.

Before & After

Before
. Yanjiao, China. Reuters/NASA
After
. Yanjiao, China. Reuters/NASA

Before: Beijing is seen in a NASA satellite image taken in 1979.
After: Beijing in 2015.

By the time it is completed, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei project will span 212,000 square kilometres, or more than twice the size of South Korea.

Infrastructure has not yet caught up with the population growth - rail lines and highways are still under construction and road traffic is often gridlocked.

Given the existing commuter woes in Beijing, some critics are raising questions about urban sprawl and the potential environmental impact of the megacity.

Traffic jams in and around Beijing have become notorious, including one in 2010 that stretched 100 km.

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State planners say that by 2020 a transportation network will span the mega-city cluster, and signs of progress should be seen by 2017, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which cited a government document.

For the moment, getting to work can take time and patience.

Reuters recently tracked residents on their daily commute from home to work. Their journeys, which crisscross the city, are as diverse as their individual stories.

. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Take, for instance, Lai Yongmei, 47, a migrant worker who commutes 90 minutes from her village home in the Shunyi district to the chic Sanlitun neighbourhood to clean corporate offices.

. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Or Li Nan, a make-up artist who wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to commute the roughly 95 km from Tianjin to Beijing using a combination of bus, high-speed rail and subway.

. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

With the cost of living in Beijing rising, many residents have moved farther to the city's outskirts - and beyond.

For people like An Zi, a movie producer who relocated to the Dongsanqi village in northern Beijing this year, the commute can take two hours. An's transport costs are more than 200 yuan a month, or about a fifth of his monthly rent.

"I've considered buying an apartment in Yanjiao (in Hebei province) but not inside Beijing, it's too expensive," An said, adding that living in Dongsanqi was the only way he could afford to live in an apartment by himself.

. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

For Li, the make-up artist, moving to an apartment in Tianjin that she purchased for 1.2 million yuan last year has so far reaped dividends.

"I spend about 100 yuan on transportation every day, but it's worth it," Li said. "I'm living in my own apartment and I don't have to pay rent. It's a good deal."

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The average Beijing commute has stretched to 52 minutes, placing it 4 minutes above the average commute in New York City, and 1 minute above Shanghai’s, according to surveys.

Beijing residents have worked out creative ways to avoid peak-hour jams. Some wake before dawn, some share taxi rides, others use car-hailing apps.

. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

For Yoko Wu, a Hong Kong transplant who lives in the Beijing suburbs with her family and children, Uber has become her main way to beat traffic and get work done on the road.

"No one likes the traffic here," she said. "It's a fixable problem though."

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Slideshow

People wait for the bus to take them to Beijing from Yanjiao, Hebei province.
. Yanjiao, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

People wait for the bus to take them to Beijing from Yanjiao, Hebei province.

People board a bus to take them to Beijing from Yanjiao.
. Yanjiao, CHINA. Reuters/Damir Sagolj

People board a bus to take them to Beijing from Yanjiao.

A passenger boards the bus to Beijing.
. Yanjiao, CHINA. Reuters/Damir Sagolj

A passenger boards the bus to Beijing.

A man who takes commuters from their homes to a bus station in Yanjiao drives his electric tricycle.
. Yanjiao, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

A man who takes commuters from their homes to a bus station in Yanjiao drives his electric tricycle.

A man is seen inside his apartment in Yanjiao.
. Yanjiao, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

A man is seen inside his apartment in Yanjiao.

Migrant worker Lai Yongmei, 47, eats her breakfast as she prepares for her daily commute from the Shunyi district to Beijing.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Migrant worker Lai Yongmei, 47, eats her breakfast as she prepares for her daily commute from the Shunyi district to Beijing.

Lai sleeps on a bus on her way into Beijing.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Lai sleeps on a bus on her way into Beijing.

Lai starts work as a cleaner in downtown Beijing.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Lai starts work as a cleaner in downtown Beijing.

Li Nan drinks tea before she leaves for Tianjin, to commute to Beijing for work.
. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Li Nan drinks tea before she leaves for Tianjin, to commute to Beijing for work.

Li walks to a bus station with her mother.
. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Li walks to a bus station with her mother.

Li takes a bus.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Li takes a bus.

Li walks into a train station.
. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Li walks into a train station.

Li takes an escalator.
. Tianjin, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Li takes an escalator.

Yoko Wu eats her breakfast at her house in Shunyi District in Beijing.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Yoko Wu eats her breakfast at her house in Shunyi District in Beijing.

Yoko walks toward an Uber taxi as she leaves her house.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Yoko walks toward an Uber taxi as she leaves her house.

A ring road is congested with traffic.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

A ring road is congested with traffic.

Yoko uses her mobile phone as she heads to her office.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Yoko uses her mobile phone as she heads to her office.

An Zi washes before he leaves for work.
. Changping, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

An Zi washes before he leaves for work.

An waits in a queue outside a subway station on his way to work at about 7:30 am in Changping district on the outskirts of Beijing.
. Changping, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

An waits in a queue outside a subway station on his way to work at about 7:30 am in Changping district on the outskirts of Beijing.

An walks out from a subway car on his way to work.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

An walks out from a subway car on his way to work.

The ‘Earthprints’ series are multimedia stories showing dramatic human impact on the planet in the last 30 years. Released ahead of the UN Climate Conference COP21: Singapore, Cancun, Rio Pardo, Lake Nakuru, Aletsch Glacier, Andasol solar power station, Leslie Street Spit, Lake Powell