Guangyuan drives to become regional transport hub in Southwest China

Guangyuan in Southwest China's Sichuan province is committed to building itself into a regional transport hub linking Sichuan and Northwest China by 2014, says Mayor Ma Hua.

Ma, a deputy to the National People's Congress, said the massive magnitude-8.0 earthquake that hit Sichuan in May 2008 paralyzed the city's traffic system. But in less than four years, great achievements have been made in transportation construction in this devastated land, which has greatly boosted the local economy.

"To develop the city's economy, we must first develop the traffic system," Ma said, adding that in the past the city's poor transportation infrastructure had long been a bottleneck constraining its economic and social development.