China's Hebei expands testing area for intelligent connected vehicles

SHIJIAZHUANG -- Cangzhou city of North China's Hebei province has expanded testing of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) on new public routes, making it one of the largest road networks nationwide for testing autonomous vehicles.

Cangzhou has newly earmarked roads with a length of 407.3 km for ICV testing, bringing the total length to 636.9 km, said the municipal public security bureau.

The ICV road testing will involve more real-world traffic scenarios, such as transportation hubs, business zones, residential communities, schools, and parks.

In recent years, Cangzhou has speeded up its efforts to develop the ICV industry. The city has achieved strategic cooperation with internet companies, including Baidu, on autonomous driving and intelligent transportation.

China allowed local governments to arrange road tests for ICVs, which cover different degrees of autonomous driving, in April 2018. An increasing number of cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, have issued license plates for road tests of ICVs.