Wheels of change

Private transport in China has changed dramatically in the past two decades. In 1991, as seen in the above photo, almost all commuters rode bicycles. By November last year, official statistics showed that the number of people with drivers' licenses in the country had exceeded 300 million. Private car ownership has also spiked, contributing to urban challenges such as traffic jams and air pollution. Major ring roads in Beijing are often congested, as seen in the photo at right. It was taken in 2012 when an accident paralyzed a section of the fourth ring road for so long that drivers and passengers stepped onto the main street to wait out the snarl.