Travel in China

Drivers from other parts of the country will no longer have to worry
about getting lost traveling in Beijing with the help of an itinerary map.

Beijing Times reports a mechanism aimed at easing traveling
inconveniences for outsiders of Beijing will start in March at all 16
checkpoints entering the city. As long as the drivers tell the police
their destination, the police will print out a free itinerary map that
leads the way from the checkpoint to their destination.

On the map, drivers can find driving routes, distance, urban traffic
network information, as well as the number and type of their automobiles.
An official with the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, Jiang Jinhui,
says the itinerary on the map is the shortest and the most efficient.

The service is based on a route-seeking system that compiles routes
according to different automobile types and the traffic situation. The
official warns that drivers must tell the police their automobile type in
case some types of automobiles are banned in some areas because of
traffic control.

A recent survey shows that more than half of drivers from outside of
Beijing are not familiar with the routes in Beijing and eight out of ten
want the free itinerary guidance service.