Xiamen, Fujian province is improving its transportation infrastructure to become a fully fledged regional hub by 2020, the city's transportation bureau said on Dec 27.

Between January and November 2015, the city paved 2,720 kilometers of roads, and the city's road system handled 16.9 billion ton kilometers of freight, an annual growth of 15.9 percent, topping the province.

In the same period, Xiamen's railway system handled 19.28 million passengers, 22.27 percent more than last year. The city's airports handled 20.1 million passengers, an annual growth of 4.35 percent, and 283,500 tons of freight, an annual growth of 1.05 percent.

During that period, the logistics sector realized 85.55 billion yuan ($13.2 billion) in revenue, growing 14.28 percent annually, and 28.35 billion yuan in added value, an annual rise of 15.2 percent.

Currently there are 3,700 logistics enterprises in the city, 68 of which are rated AAA grade or higher in credibility.

In 2015 Xiamen invested more than 30 billion yuan and prompted massive advances in roads, railways, air navigation, and logistics.

Xiamen ran a string of construction and renovation projects to improve the city's road network and raise connectivity with other cities.

Xiamen railway station opened its southern terminal in 2015, strengthening railway service in southeast China.

The Gaoqi international airport became the 11th largest airport in terms of domestic market, and fifth largest in terms of international traffic. The airport opened routes to the Netherlands and Australia in 2015, and a new international airport is now under construction in the Xiang'an district.

Xiamen added dozens of bus lines and optimized bus routes running across the city. A fifth line was added to its Bus Rapid Transit network, which achieved enclosed pathways with elevated bridges on Xiamen Island (the center of the city) and dedicated lanes at the coastal districts.

In logistics, Xiamen is constructing the Qianchang freight yard and a marshaling yard in Haicang district to boost railway shipping.

On August 16, the Xiamen-Chengdu-Europe railway route was launched to link the Xiamen free trade area to Europe. A route to Central Asia was opened the same day.

The 15-day Xiamen-Chengdu-Europe cargo route starts at the Haicang district and ends at Lodz, Poland. The Central Asia route is a direct route that runs for five days. Both routes operate once a week, cutting travel time by up to 50 percent.

Edited by Andrew Ancheta