Transport access

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has also made remarkable achievements in transportation integration in recent years. Among them is the establishment of a "one-hour commuting circle" between four cities-Beijing, Xiong'an, Tianjin and Baoding in Hebei.

In the railway sector, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway and the Beijing-Xiong'an intercity railway have also been put into operation. The total railway length in the region is now 1,352 kilometers.

Meanwhile, national highways and urban roads in Beijing have been connected to 68 highways in Tianjin and Hebei, with a total road length of 22,363 kilometers.

"The implementation rate of planned roads has reached 96.6 percent, which has significantly enhanced the city's transportation capacity to radiate to the outside world," said Rong Jun, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

To address the commuting challenges faced by residents in three northern counties of Langfang, Hebei, who work in Beijing, shuttle buses to the capital have been introduced.

The buses operate 107 trips a day and transport over 4,200 passengers. During peak hours, the buses save commuters up to 30 minutes in travel time compared with traveling by car.

Rong said further research will be conducted on whether to extend the bus service to Wuqing and Gu'an, two other cities in Hebei. At present, 38 inter-provincial bus routes operate every day, with average daily passenger volume exceeding 180,000.

Zhang Zhixing, a 38-year-old Langfang resident who works at a company in Beijing's Chaoyang district, said he takes the shuttle bus every workday.

"I used to spend two hours or more on my way to work by car or other public transportation. It was tough," he said.

"I have more time for my family now after I started taking the shuttle bus earlier this year."