G25 – Baixia District, Nanjing, Jiangsu G2501 G4211 – Yuhuatai District, Nanjing, Jiangsu The Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway (Chinese: 上海－成都高速公路; pinyin: Shànghǎi-Chéngdū Gāosùgōnglù), designated as G42 and commonly referred to as the Hurong Expressway (simplified Chinese: 沪蓉高速公路; traditional Chinese: 滬蓉高速公路; pinyin: Hù-Róng Gāosùgōnglù) is an east–west bound expressway that connects the eastern metropolis of Shanghai to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan.

The expressway passes through six provinces and serves major cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, and Yichang.

At Anting Town, the G42 connects with G1501 Shanghai Ring Expressway through a brief connector and two trumpet interchanges, then intersects with the G1501 via an overpass and enters Kunshan, Jiangsu.

It is run concurrently with G2 Beijing-Shanghai Expressway until Huishan District, Wuxi, where it splits with the northeast-bound G2 and continues east.

After meeting G4011 Yangzhou-Liyang Expressway in Dantu District, Zhenjiang, G42 continues westbound and enters Nanjing.

For its entire length south to Yangtze River in Nanjing, G42 concurs with Jiangsu S001 Highway and intersects with G25 Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway near Baixia District.

Through traffic is then carried across the Yangtze River by Third Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, and the G42 splits with G2501 at an interchange to the east of Laoshan National Forest Park, where G42 turns west and concurs with G40 Shanghai-Xi'an Expressway for their remaining lengths in Jiangsu.

This portion of expressway generally follows the Anhui S210 Highway corridor, but it bypasses the Meishan Reservoir to the south, and is characterized by expansive bridges and lengthy tunnels.

At the village of Changlingguan Pass, the expressway crosses Anhui-Hubei border and enters Macheng, Hubei Province.

The expressway enters Hubei at the town of Muzidian and continues westbound to the Dabie Mountains Tunnel.

At the intersection with Hubei S2 Wuhan-Xiaogan Expressway, G42 splits with G70, which concurs with S2 northwest bound, and continues southwest.

Due to restraints of the difficult terrains, the maximum speed on the expressway has been set at 80 km/h (50 mph).

At Qinggangba Interchange, the G42 turns westbound and intersects with the Chongqing-Yibin Expressway, which spurs into the downtown of Wanzhou and becomes the G318 National Highway.