Autonomous Driving Test Roads

Autonomous driving test roads refer to dedicated routes designated or built specifically to validate the safety, reliability, and performance of autonomous vehicles (AVs), serving as an indispensable pathway for autonomous driving technology to transition from laboratories to commercial deployment. These test roads are categorised into two primary types: closed proving grounds and open test roads, which collectively form a progressive verification framework of "closed testing → semi-open testing → open road testing".

Closed Proving Grounds

Closed proving grounds are purpose-built, enclosed facilities tailored for autonomous vehicle trials. Capable of replicating urban roads, expressways, rural routes, as well as diverse weather and traffic conditions, they represent the foundational and most critical phase of autonomous driving evaluation.

A typical closed proving ground comprises multiple specialised zones: the urban road test zone simulates city traffic environments such as cross junctions, roundabouts, tunnels, and bus stops; the expressway test zone features straights, bends, inclines, and toll plazas, supporting vehicle speeds of up to 120 km/h; the rural road test zone replicates challenging conditions including narrow lanes, sharp corners, and steep gradients; the special scenario test zone uses crash dummies, dummy vehicles, and robotics to simulate hazardous incidents like jaywalkers, abrupt lane changes, and oncoming vehicles; whilst the weather simulation test zone recreates adverse conditions such as rain, snow, and dense fog to evaluate system robustness.

These proving grounds are equipped with advanced infrastructure, including high-precision positioning systems, data acquisition units, CCTV surveillance, and scenario control systems, delivering centimetre-level positioning accuracy alongside remote scenario management.

China has established several world-class closed proving grounds. The Highway Traffic Comprehensive Test Site under the Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport, located in Tongzhou, Beijing, spans approximately 3,700 mu and features a 3-kilometre dedicated AV test track covering typical urban and highway infrastructure. Equipped with cooperative traffic light systems, meteorological simulators, and tunnel test rigs, it is among the pioneer batch of accredited closed testing facilities certified by the Ministry of Transport. Nationwide initiatives are also actively underway; for instance, Guangxi Communications Investment Technology has partnered with China Merchants Vehicle Research to repurpose a disused section of the former Guiliu Road into a full-scale smart mobility comprehensive proving ground in Southwest China, offering one-stop testing for AV functionality, performance, safety, and operational scenarios.

Open Test Roads

Upon completing verification within closed proving grounds, autonomous vehicles advance to the semi-open testing and open road testing stages. Semi-open trials take place on designated public roads with light traffic volume, whereas open road testing represents the final validation phase, where test vehicles share public roads with everyday traffic to evaluate long-term system reliability under real-world, complex conditions.

To date, a cumulative total of 32,000 kilometres of public test roads have been gazetted nationwide, with traffic authorities issuing over 16,000 autonomous vehicle test number plates. The national-level "Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration" pilot programme covers 20 pilot cities (consortia), deploying over 11,000 sets of smart roadside units (RSUs) and clocking over 120 million kilometres in cumulative test mileage.

Taking Guangzhou as an example, as of July 2025, the city has opened 1,340 general test roads (totalling 2,601 kilometres of single-direction mileage) and 10 expressway test routes (totalling 263.27 kilometres of single-direction mileage). The test sectors span urban expressways to standard roads across 8 administrative districts and the Guangzhou Airport Economic Zone. A total of 17 enterprise players have recorded over 1.3 million hours and 24.41 million kilometres in cumulative test mileage.

Pudong New Area in Shanghai designated its fourth batch of open AV test routes in January 2026, encompassing 1,439 roads covering 2,113.78 kilometres across surface streets and expressways, which include 4 expressway stretches measuring 56.86 kilometres. Shanghai has established a comprehensive "four-all and one-integration" testing blueprint encompassing all vehicle types, full journey chains, all risk tiers, all testing phases, and seamless integration with new infrastructure.

At the prefecture-level city level, Suqian gazetted its inaugural batch of test roads in October 2025, covering expressways and multiple stretches across Suyu District and Hubin New Area. The designated testing window runs from October 2025 to September 2026, operational daily between 07:00 and 23:00 (avoiding morning and evening peak hours).

Regulatory Framework and Testing Procedures

Autonomous vehicle road testing operates under the guiding principles of "ensuring safety, piloting first, and tiered classification", underpinned by an end-to-end regulatory framework spanning application through to operational oversight. Road testing applicants must demonstrate operational competency, provide closed proving ground qualification certificates, and maintain real-time remote monitoring capabilities. Test vehicles must feature dual driving modes (manual override and autonomous), onboard status logging, and active telemetry, alongside mandatory third-party liability insurance coverage of not less than RM5,000,000.

The standard application procedure entails: submitting application dossiers to the regulatory authorities (including safety self-declarations, third-party inspection reports, and testing protocols) → expert panel assessment and appraisal → departmental approval and endorsement → obtaining temporary trade plates/test registration plates → conducting road trials within approved zones and time windows. Cross-regional mutual recognition of test results and permits is currently gaining traction; for instance, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai have inked mutual recognition framework agreements to bolster smart mobility connectivity across the Pearl River Delta region.