3rd Ring Road (Southeastern segment, taken in July of 2004)

The 3rd Ring Road pinyin: San Huan Lu) is a 48-kilometer city ring road that encircles the centre of the city of Beijing.

When Beijing first became the capital of the People's Republic of China, the road existed only in segments encircling the northern, eastern and southern part of the city. At the time, it was known as Beihuan (North Ring), Donghuan (East Ring) and Nanhuan (South Ring). The 3rd Ring Road was finally finished in 1994 with the completion of the western segment. There are 52 bridges, including Sanyuanqiao, which links it to the Airport Expressway. The speed limit is a uniform 80 km/h.

The 3rd Ring Road is notorious for its traffic jams. The eastern segment, which runs through Beijing's central business district (CBD), is regularly gridlocked during rush hour.

The ring road runs through the busy CBD section in the east through Panjiayuan and Fenzhongsi, linking up with the Jingjintang Expressway. It continues south toward Muxiyuan and Yuquanying, linking up with the Jingkai Expressway. It next proceeds west, linking up with the Jingshi Expressway before running into the western segment, which is linked with the Wukesong residential area, TV broadcasting centres, and, in the northwest, Zhongguancun IT zone. The northern segment is equally busy, running through Beitaipingzhuang, with links to the Badaling Expressway and the new Jingcheng Expressway (with the link to Jingcheng Expressway nearing completion).

An underground line of the Beijing Subway (Line 10) is being constructed under the eastern segment of the 3rd Ring Road and is slated for completion by 2008.