Tongzhou, located in southeast Beijing, is considered as the capital's eastern gate. It is at the north end of Grand Canal and the east end of Chang'an Avenue. Tongzhou is 37 km wide from east to west and 48 km from north to south, covering an area of 906.27 square kilometers which accounting for 5.55% of Beijing's total territory and 14.3% of Beijing's plain. Tongzhou has 11 towns and 4 communities, with a population of 870,000. The character Tong' in Chinese means smooth connection and free transportation, and Tongzhou is famous for its convenient transportation. Five main roads including Beijing-Tongzhou Expressway and BaTong Lightrail, connect Tongzhou with the downtown of Beijing; the Sixth Ring Road brings Tongzhou and the other suburbs of Beijing together by easy communication; seven highways of Beijing lead out almost to all parts of China, and 3 of them run through Tongzhou, namely Beijing-Shenyang Highway, Beijing-Harbin Highway, and Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Highway. Beijing-Chengde and Beijing-Qinghuangdao railways also meet in Tongzhou. Besides, the Seventh Ring Road, Subway Line Five, Beijing-Shanghai High speed Railway, and Beijing-Tianjin commuter train are also under construction. |
