Autonomous buses are ready to head out and carry passengers in Yangquan. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

Yangquan recently showcased and demonstrated its leading status in autonomous driving and smart city technology.

As a national pilot city for smart internet of things applications and one of Shanxi's first smart city pilots, Yangquan is Shanxi province's first city to truly enter the autonomous driving era and the third in China to offer commercial autonomous travel services.

On Taobei East Road, passengers on June 19 experienced the cutting-edge "Apollo Go" autonomous taxi service

These self-driving cars navigated smoothly – automatically turning, correcting and stopping for obstacles – all under the supervision of a safety officer.

Since its launch, "Apollo Go" has expanded to 150 stations, its taxis covering over 2.5 million kilometers and completing more than 70,000 orders.

An autonomous delivery vehicle delivers packages. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

In addition to autonomous taxis, unmanned delivery vehicles in the city now support local logistics, traveling between postal hubs and distribution points.

Powered by L4-level autonomous driving technology, the vehicles are said to enhance delivery speeds and reduce manual workload.

But Yangquan's leadership in this field of endeavor extends beyond transportation. With 200 kilometers of road now equipped for autonomous driving and 50 intelligent traffic intersections, the city's integrated system enhances traffic flows – reducing average vehicle stops by 53 percent and boosting efficiency by 35 percent.

Overall, this approach is seen as not only optimizing urban traffic management – but also setting a very high benchmark for smart city development nationwide.