China currently has 3.48 million kilometres of roads, including those in rural areas.

About 260,000 kilometres of roads were either newly built or upgraded in rural areas, thus benefiting more than 30,000 villages and 30 million villagers.

In 2006, 8,711 bus stations were newly established in the countryside, offering rural residents in nearly 20,000 villages the chance to take a bus ride to nearby towns for the first time.

The ministry has also saved farmers 2.5 billion yuan (US$312.5 million) in 2006 thanks to the nationwide "Green Channel" network which opened in 2005.

Composed of 43,000 kilometres of highways and expressways, tolls are either waived or cut for farmers using these channels to transport agricultural products.

The ministry will take more steps next year to benefit farmers. Li said 300,000 kilometres of new rural roads would be built next year.

It is estimated that 18.4 billion people travelled by bus and 210 million people travelled by ship in 2006, increasing by 8.7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

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