| The smoothness of trafic is a key factor of regional economy and social development.Out of necessity of government and territorial expansion,all imperial dynasties of China exerted much effort in building and maintaining roads.At the end of Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic,with the emergence of the automobile as a new type of vehicle,construction of modern highways started and modern transportation gradually developed.Since the founding of the Republic in 1912 to the outbreak of Anti-Japanese War in 1937,Shandong local government was striving to encourage the development of highway transportation,so as to promote trade,industrial restructuring and social progress.The traffic and transportation systems in modern Shandong witnessed a transition of major mode from water to railway.With the development of road building and vehicle manufacturing,it was not until the period of Republic of China that Shandong started its real modernization in road construction,transportation and management.Although there was no new highway traffic hubs in this period,highway traffic still had a special advantage in medium-and short-distance transportation because of low costs in construction,flexibility and speed.With the development of new transportation modes,traditional traffic mechanism was greatly impacted and modes of transportation began to change.Overall,in the modern period,Shandong’s transportation system experienced a major change from river traffic to sea traffic and railway traffic;in the Republican period,highway traffic sprang to life and played an increasingly key role in commodity exchange,passenger travel and social development.After the founding of Nanjing National Government,Shandong highway achieved further development,with roads connecting major cities in the province mostly completed.Construction of county roads,township roads and village roads were started,and a preliminary highway network was taking shape.In addition,Han Fuju,the then governor of Shandong,attached great importance to local economic and social development.In particular,to maintain local economic strength,he pushed Shandong highway construction onto a large-scale stage in the Independent Economic System Construction campaign.Before the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937,Shandong’s counties and important townships were all linked up by highways.During this period,there was a big increase of highways in the province in quantity,but their quality remained inferior,especially the town roads and township roads,which were as easy to get damaged as they were easy to be built.Much maintenance was needed on the highways after they were built.Along with construction and extension of highways and improvement of vehicles,highway transportation was gradually developed.In this period,Shandong’s political situation was comparatively stable,national industries were developed,road transportation management authorities reformed their administration,opened up new road transportation routes,operated road transportation,and improved road transportation management,so that commodity exchanges and passenger travels between cities and countryside were boosted.In the meantime,administrative departments came to realize that combined transportation between highway and railway should be promoted,so that the efficiency of highway was thus raised.Yanwei Highway is located in Northeast Shandong,connecting Yantai and the County of Wei.It was one of the earliest highways in Shandong built during the period of Republic of China.After the major drought in North China in 1920,the then Ministry of Communications decided to build this Yanwei Railway,but for various reasons,Yanwei Railway turned out to be Yanwei Highway,the best highway in Shandong at that time.It played a key role in the export of agricultural produce and artefacts and passenger travel in Northeast Shandong.The construction of railway failed for lack of funding,then the highway was built as a makeshift,and ultimately Yanwei Highway functioned as the driving force of regional transportation and economic development.This is a direct result of highway’s advantages of low costs and convenience.From the perspective of social development,traffic plays a pivotal role.Highway traffic,in particular,serves as a decisive factor in social production,exchange,consumption and people’s life.In the period of Republic of China,highway development had substantial influence on the gradual change of Shandong society:On the one hand,highways facilitated people’s travel,transformed the agricultural structure along them,promoted commercialization of agricultural produce,increased the countrymen’s income,and stimulated the change of social behaviors;on the other hand,the development of highways also brought about new social problems,such as invasion of nonlocal goods and peddlers’ and porters’ loss of job.In all,the development of highway traffic served as a new starting point of traditional social development:It largely improved and expanded people’s traveling means of ranges,and promoted social development as well. |
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