China's 10 Cities With the Worst Traffic

Think Beijing is the city with the worst traffic in China? Think again.

An annual traffic analysis study put together by Amap, the Scientific Research Insitute of the Ministry of Transport, Tsinghua-Daimler Center for Sustainable Transportation Research, Ali Cloud, Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning & Design Institute and Bitauto was just released for 2016, and Beijing was not named the country's most congested city. 

What's even more surprising is that Shanghai and Shenzhen didn't even make the top ten, ranking 11th and 15th, respectively. Chengdu, which topped a different ranking for worst traffic earlier this year, also didn't make the cut.

The report studied 100 cities across the country, according to China.org.cn. It measured factors including average rush hour car speeds and costs of traffic jams per capita to create a "rush hour delay index" score. The index suggests that an increase in cars in smaller cities contributed to rising road congestion in second and third-tier cities.

Take a look at the 10 cities identified as having the worst traffic in China in 2016.

10. Qingdao (Shandong)

Rush hour delay score: 1.928
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 25.02
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB539

9. Xi'an (Shaanxi)

Rush hour delay score: 1.933
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 25.02
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB635

8. Guangzhou (Guangdong)

Rush hour delay score: 1.949
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 22.65
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB823

7. Chongqing

Rush hour delay score: 1.954
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 24.7
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB632

6. Dalian (Liaoning)

Rush hour delay score: 1.960
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 21.63
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB708

5. Lanzhou (Gansu)

Rush hour delay score: 1.977
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 20.51
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB621 

4. Kunming (Yunnan)

Rush hour delay score: 2.007
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 23.34
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB618

3. Beijing

Rush hour delay score: 2.090
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 22.64
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB924

2. Jinan (Shandong)

Rush hour delay index: 2.162
Average rush hour car speed (km/h): 19.78
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB656

1. Harbin (Heilongjiang)

Rush hour delay score: 2.176
Rush hour car speed (km/h): 20.8
Traffic jam costs per capita: RMB580

[Images via China.org.cn]