2nd Overseas Technical Visit to Tongji University and Tongxiang City, China on 8 Aug 2025
- Dylan Chong
- Aug 9
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 23
This is the second pre-conference technical visit organized by the Pavement Engineering Society (Singapore).
Prior to the commencement of the 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE) at Hangzhou, China, PES organized a pre-conference Technical visit to College of Transportation Engineering at Tongji University, Shanghai, followed by a site visit at Tongxiang area, Jiaxing.
There were altogether 15 participants including 11 PES Council members and 4 conference participants from Singapore.
A. College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University Shanghai
Tongji University, founded in 1907, is one of China’s oldest and most prestigious universities with a strong German heritage. Over the past century, it has played a leading role in advancing civil engineering, architecture, and urban planning in China.
The College of Transportation Engineering at Tongji University is one of the most influential academic institutions in China in the fields of transportation and urban rail systems.
Upon arrival we were greeted by Professor Liu Chenglong and he briefed us on the history of the development of the transportation in China and the merging of the transportation disciplines from various universities into Tongji University.
We were treated to their amazing laboratories and research centres which includes:
1. 8DOF Driving Simulation Lab
2. Accelerated Pavement Tester
3. Teaching & Learning lab with simulators for roads and rails model
4. High-Speed Maglev Research Track
5. Autonomous Vehicle Testing Circuit
6. Discussion on electrifying road for wireless charging of EV vehicles
8DOF Driving Simulation Lab
We visit the 8 Degree-of-Freedom Driving Simulator. It provides a highly immersive environment for studying human–vehicle–infrastructure interaction simulating various real-life driving conditions. The simulator is primarily used for study of:
· Driver behaviour analysis in complex traffic scenarios
· Human-in-the-loop testing for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
· Validation of automated vehicle control algorithms
· Research on motion sickness, risk perception, and interface ergonomics
Accelerated Pavement Tester (APT)
The APT facility at Tongji University's College of Transportation Engineering enables full-scale simulation of traffic loading cycles. It supports research on pavement durability, fatigue performance, evaluation of asphalt layer modulus, and reflective cracking in composite structures.
Three-Phase Traffic Simulation Lab and Rail Track Simulation Lab
Designed and developed by the College of Transportation Engineering at Tongji University, this 3-Phase Virtual Simulation Lab integrates scaled physical models, sensor tracking systems, and programmable traffic controllers to enable multi-agent vehicle perception, traffic signal strategy testing, autonomous driving path planning, and V2X research.
The rail track simulation links several stations around Shanghai including the Shanghai Hongqiao Station.
High-Speed Maglev Research Track
In July 2012, the Maglev Centre (also known as National Maglev Transportation Engineering Technology R&D Centre) which was founded in 2001, was integrated into the College of Transportation Engineering’s research centre. The centre continues to carry out research on the core transportation technology of maglev, and plays as R & D base, experimental base, training base, and technical consulting services for both local and foreign co-operation. It has a 1.5km test track and had conducted test runs of up to 600km/hour. Unfortunately we were not able to witness the test run at the time of our visit.
View of the Maglev Test Track at Tongji University taken from our bus Autonomous Driving and Testing Circuit
We also has the opportunity to sight the autonomous driving circuit where companies can have their proposed autonomous vehicle tested for the first stage of certification.
Autonomous Driving and V2X Testing Circuit Discussion and Presentation of Token of Appreciation
After the visit to the transportation laboratories and research facilities we had an interesting round-up discussion on the topic of electrifying roads for wireless charging of EV cars and the use of Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), and the special additives for ultra-thin asphalt overlay system. The visit to Tongji University was concluded with the presentation of token of appreciation by Mr Tan Hua Soon, PES Pre-conference Technical Visit Delegation Chairperson to the Vice Dean of the College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, Professor Zhu Xingyi.
B. Site visit at Tongxiang area, Jiaxing
In the afternoon we were hosted by Jia Hai Construction Ltd and visited a site where a stretch of the road was overlaid with an ultra-thin asphalt layer of about 15mm. The Asphalt overlay project uses a proprietary mix to lay over aged concrete pavement to improve the surface texture and rideability. It has good durability with no rutting, potholes and reflective cracking observed.
During the visit we also saw the demonstration of the road condition monitoring car and motorbike. The motorbike is used to check the condition of the side walk, kerb and nearby road furniture. There is also a smart bus-stop with an interactive screen which enables user to check bus route, arrival timing with live streaming of the bus movement. It acts like our smart phone with a large screen.
At the end of the site visit, PES also presented a token of appreciation to Mr Shen Guoquan, CEO of Jia Hai Construction Ltd.
The Pavement Engineering Society (Singapore) thanked the hosts for a very well organizing and fruitful visit.
