Several cities in China had tram systems during the 20th century; however, by the end of the century, only Dalian and Changchun remained extant.[1] However the 21st century has seen a resurgence in tram transport systems as China attempts to combat with urban traffic congestion and pollution.
Tianjin and Shanghai have recently introduced rubber tired trams for their TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram and Zhangjiang Tram respectively.
In 2011, Shenyang city decided to construct a new tram network to complement its new metro network. The first three lines of the new system were opened on August 15, 2013.[3] [4] A year later, Nanjing opened the new Hexi trams just before the 2014 Youth Olympics. Since them new tram systems opened in a number of cities in China such as Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Zhuhai, Wuhan, Huai'an and Beijing.
According to an expert affiliated with the Ministry of Transport, some of the newly constructed tram networks were built without considering the suitability of this mode of transportation well, leading to low-passenger numbers due to the tram lines serving less-densely populated outskirts, slow operating speeds and with unrecoverable operating costs.[5] Some tram systems are built primarily to promote tourism, rather than filling a transportation niche and have been called white elephant projects, such as the Delingha Tram. Other tram systems have been more successful, such as the Huai'an Tram, Beijing's Xijiao line and Haizhu Tram.[6]
| Lines | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line (not services) | System | Locale | Length | Stations | Opened | ||||||||
| Xijiao line | Beijing Subway | Beijing | 8.8km (05.5miles) | 6 | 2017-12-30 | ||||||||
| Yizhuang T1 line | Beijing Subway | Beijing | 11.91NaN1< | --13.2551NaN1 (future)[7] --> | 14< | --15 (future)--> | 2020-12-31 | ||||||
| 54 | Changchun Tram | Changchun | 7.6km (04.7miles) | 16 (10 shared) | 1941-11-01 | ||||||||
| 55 | Changchun Tram | Changchun | 9.6km (06miles) | 19 (10 shared) | 1941-11-01 | ||||||||
| Line 3 | Changchun Subway | Changchun | 31.9km (19.8miles) | 32 | 2002-10-30 | ||||||||
| Line 2 | Chengdu Metro | Chengdu | 39.3km (24.4miles) | 35 | 2018-12-26 | ||||||||
| 201 | Dalian Tram | Dalian | 11.6km (07.2miles) | 18 | 1909-??-?? | ||||||||
| 202 | Dalian Tram | Dalian | 12.6km (07.8miles) | 19 | 1909-??-??< | -- | - bgcolor="lightgrey" | Line T1 | Delingha Modern Tram | Delingha | 2020-??-??[8] | ||
| Line T2 | Delingha Modern Tram | Delingha | 2020-??-??[9] --> | ||||||||||
| Line 1 | Dujiangyan M-TR | Dujiangyan | 17.3km (10.7miles) | 17 | 2024-05-15 | ||||||||
| Line 2 | Dujiangyan M-TR | Dujiangyan | 17.3km (10.7miles) | 13 | 2024-05-15 | ||||||||
| Gaoming Tram (TGM1) | Foshan Gaoming Tram | Foshan | 6.57km (04.08miles)[10] | 10 | 2019-12-30 | ||||||||
| Nanhai Tram Line 1 (TNH1) | Foshan Nanhai Tram | Foshan | 14.41NaN1 | 15 | 2021-08-18[11] | ||||||||
| Haizhu Tram (THZ1) | Guangzhou Modern Tram | Guangzhou | 7.7km (04.8miles) | 11 | 2014-12-31 | ||||||||
| Huangpu Tram Line 1 | Guangzhou Modern Tram | Guangzhou | 14.3km (08.9miles) | 19 | 2020-07-01[12] | ||||||||
| 5XX, 6XX, 7XX | MTR | Hong Kong | 36.2km (22.5miles) | 68 | 1988-09-18 | ||||||||
| Hong Kong Tramways | Hong Kong Tramways | Hong Kong | 30km (20miles) | 120 | 1904-07-30 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Honghe Modern Tram | Mengzi | 13.3km (08.3miles) | 15 | 2020-10-01 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Huai'an Modern Tram | Huai'an | 20km (10miles) | 23 | 2015-12-28 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Huangshi Tram | Huangshi | 26.8km (16.7miles) | 30 | 2021-12-30 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Jiaxing Tram | Jiaxing | 11.2km (07miles)[13] | 12 | 2021-06-25 | ||||||||
| Hexi line | Nanjing Hexi Modern Tram | Nanjing | 7.6km (04.7miles) | 13 | 2014-08-01 | ||||||||
| Qilin line | Nanjing Qilin Modern Tram | Nanjing | 8.9km (05.5miles) | 13 | 2017-10-31 | ||||||||
| Chengyang line | Qingdao Modern Tram | Qingdao | 8.7km (05.4miles) | 12 | 2016-03-05 | ||||||||
| Line T1 | Sanya Modern Tram | Sanya | 8.37km (05.2miles)[14] | 15 | 2019-01-01 | ||||||||
| Line T1 | Shanghai Songjiang Modern Tram | Shanghai | 2019-08-10 | ||||||||||
| Line T2 | Shanghai Songjiang Modern Tram | Shanghai | 13.9km (08.6miles) | 20 | 2018-12-26 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 12.2km (07.6miles) | 27 (17 shared) | 2013-08-31 | ||||||||
| Line 2 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 14.8km (09.2miles) | 18 (12 shared) | 2013-08-31 | ||||||||
| Line 3 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 11.3km (07miles) | 18 (5 shared) | 2015-06-29 | ||||||||
| Line 4 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 2019-01-05 | ||||||||||
| Line 5 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 21.4km (13.3miles) | 25 | 2013-08-31 | ||||||||
| Line 6 | Shenyang Hunnan Modern Tram | Shenyang | 2019-01-05 | ||||||||||
| Longhua line | Shenzhen Modern Tram | Shenzhen | 11.7km (07.3miles) | 20 | 2017-10-28 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Suzhou New District Modern Tram | Suzhou | 25.7km (16miles) | 15 | 2014-10-26 | ||||||||
| Line 2 | Suzhou New District Modern Tram | Suzhou | 18.6km (11.6miles) | 13 | 2018-08-31 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Tianshui Tram | Tianshui | 12.9261NaN1 | 12 | 2020-05-01[15] | ||||||||
| Line 4 | Wenshan Tram | Qiubei | 13.961NaN1[16] | 10 | 2021-05-15 | ||||||||
| Line T1 | Wuhan Auto-city Modern Tram | Wuhan | 16.8km (10.4miles) | 22 | 2017-07-28 | ||||||||
| Line T1 | Wuhan Optics Valley Modern Tram | Wuhan | 12.5km (07.8miles) | 17 (3 shared) | 2018-04-01 | ||||||||
| Line T2 | Wuhan Optics Valley Modern Tram | Wuhan | 19.2km (11.9miles) | 25 (3 shared) | 2018-04-01 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Wuyi Tram | Wuyi New Area (Nanping) | 26.185km (16.271miles) | 6< | --10 (including unopened)--> | 2022-01-01[17] | |||||||
| Line 1[18] | Zhuhai Modern Tram | Zhuhai | 8.9km (05.5miles) | 14 | 2017-06-13 | ||||||||
| Line 1 | Shanghai Zhangjiang Modern Tram | Shanghai | 9.8km (06.1miles) | 15 | 2010-01-01 | ||||||||
| TEDA line | TEDA Modern Tram | Tianjin | 7.8km (04.8miles) | 14 | 2007-05-10 | ||||||||
Lanzhou New Area planned a 5-line modern tram network[23] but construction was halted in 2017 due to newly imposed restraints on borrowing.[24]
Lhasa,[26] Haikou, Quanzhou,[27] Zhengzhou, Kunshan,[28] Baotou, Korla, Anshun, Hangzhou,[29] Changzhou, Taizhou[30] and Huangshan[31] are planning tram networks for the future.