Shenzhen is generally considered to be one of the more well-planned, modern cities in China, but you wouldn’t know it from the increasing traffic gridlock that is affecting our city. But is it really worse than Beijing’s notorious traffic snarls? Nanfang Reporter Katei Wang recently translated a story that appeared in the Southern Metropolis Daily that says Shenzhen’s traffic isn’t only worse than the capital’s, it’s among the worst in the world:

IBM Corporation recently published the Global Traffic Misery Index, which measures traffic in different cities all over the world. Beijing and Shenzhen are both on the list. However, people are surprised that Shenzhen outstrips Beijing and other cities, ranking number two on the list behind Mexico City.

Needless to say, the fact Shenzhen’s traffic ranks poorly hasn’t surprised local residents. But the fact it’s rated even worse than Beijing? That has raised a few eyebrows:

“Impossible. Beijing is more congested than Shenzhen.”

“I don’t think this is credible. Based on the data, Shenzhen actually has the highest density of motor vehicles in China, when in fact Beijing is more crowded than Shenzhen.”

“Shenzhen’s traffic is not worse than Beijing’s. People who live in Beijing face half an hour or an hour’s traffic jam which rarely happens in Shenzhen.”

The story says Shenzhen traffic police bureau secretary Liu Fengjun pointed out that Beijing needs two to three hours to ease it’s traffic pressure during the peak in the evening, but Shenzhen just needs less than an hour. Liu said traffic in Shenzhen is “crowded, but controlled”.

So what are the top 5 worst cities in the world for traffic? Without further adieu…

1. Mexico City

2. Shenzhen

3. Beijing

4. Nairobi

5. Johannesburg