Where Is the First Ring Road?

In 2016, the comedian Yue Yunpeng released a song dedicated to Beijing’s neglected fifth ring road. However, the ring road that really ought to feel abandoned is the first ring road - it is not even mentioned on maps, leading us to wonder where exactly it is, or if it ever even existed.

Plan of Peking 1935

The answer can be found in the map “Plan of Peking” we have collected from 1935. In this map, a thin red line can be seen, marking the the old tramway established in 1924. The tram was the first public transportation system in the capital. The tram’s route followed a loop right in the center of Beijing, passing locations like the drum tower, dongdan, xidan and Tiananmen. Our good friend, 91-year-old Shi Rui Xiang, has confirmed to us that this circular tram route was simply just referred to as ”the ring road” or “the ring”.

The tramway loop-line built in 1924 was referred to as "the ring"

Later, in the mid 1950s, the Beijing government approved a comprehensive city plan based on the establishment of multiple ring roads, and “the ring” was counted as the first ring road.

A Beijing tram passing Xisi on the loop-line

This grand plan for the development of Beijing came to a sudden halt during the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and was shelved for almost 30 years. In the early 1980s it was taken up again and in 1994 the third ring road was completed - in fact, way ahead of the second ring road.

1957 sketch of Beijing's master construction plan

It was also around this time that the expressions “second ring road” and “third ring road” were written on public maps for the first time. However, there was no mention of a first ring road. The reason for this was probably that the trams had been abolished in the late 1950s, so the route had lost its relevance to the city and its residents.

In addition, despite running in a loop, the tram route was not an even round shaped road like the other ring roads, so did not fit with this new vision for the layout of the city. This is why today the first ring road of Beijing has been banished into obscurity, having to settle for an existence far away from the limelight.

Click the picture to learn more about this map