Chinese scientists are working to design roads on the moon.

One concept, put forward by a team from Beihang University, envisions a road built from crushed stone that is excavated in situ or sintered on the moon — quite similar to gravel roads on Earth.

"Modern roads began as gravel surfaces, so I think the moon's first road could start the same way," Li Feng, a professor at Beihang University's School of Transportation Science and Engineering, told CGTN.

The moon's environment differs from Earth's — with temperature differences of up to 300 degrees Celsius and a different gravity environment — but the team believes the moon's first roads should meet the same standards: level, solid, durable, economical and feasible.

Li says their goal was to make the technology feasible within 5 to 10 years.

"I think one advantage of our concept is that it's technically more mature, because you don't need to bake large bricks — you only need small crushed stones, either sintered or excavated in situ," Li added.

The team has carried out related research using lunar samples gathered from China's Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 missions.

They have named their conceptual lunar road the moon's "Qinzhidao". The Qinzhidao is generally regarded as ancient China's earliest "highway", built more than 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty.

"We want to pay tribute to that road in ancient China," Li says.

The study was published in January 2026 in the China Journal of Highway and Transport.