Containers are unloaded at Qingdao Port in Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

Shandong's transportation network has been greatly improved during the past decade as the province has been beefing up efforts to build a comprehensive transport network that is convenient, cost-effective, green, intelligent and safe.

In the past decade, Shandong's investment in transportation has repeatedly hit record highs, with its cumulative investment amounting to more than 1.3 trillion yuan ($180.57 billion) by the end of 2021.

The length of railways in operation in the province has reached 7,270 kilometers, among which the length of high-speed railways reached 2,319 kilometers, ranking third in the country.

The province's rural highway network has been improved as more efforts have been made to build good roads in rural areas, along with carrying out routine maintenance to ensure better roads for farmers and accelerate agricultural modernization.

The length of highways in the province now totals 288,000 kilometers, and the highway density has reached 183.9 kilometers per 100 square kilometers, ranking third in China.

The province continues to focus on speeding up the progress of the construction of world-class sea ports, a well-established modern maritime industry system, and a green and sustainable marine ecological environment, with an ultimate goal of becoming a maritime industry leader.

In 2021, the cargo throughput of coastal ports in the province reached 1.78 billion metric tons, ranking second in the country, and the container throughput reached 34.77 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), ranking fourth in the country.

In the past decade, Shandong's comprehensive transportation service capacity has been comprehensively enhanced, and in 2021, the province's comprehensive transportation passenger volume reached 320 million, its freight volume reached 3.43 billion tons, and its highway freight volume ranked first in the country.