Shenzhen traffic police will set up on-site command stations and impose traffic controls, if necessary, on roads to major cemeteries in the city during the Tomb-sweeping Day holiday, which falls on April 5-7.
Police estimate a surge of tomb sweepers Saturday and Sunday, and traffic controls will be implemented on the roads to Shenzhen Funeral Home and Jitian Cemetery in Longgang District. Only vehicles with certificates issued by police will be allowed to enter the two places. Vehicles entering the restricted areas will be towed and fined 500 yuan (US$74) for illegal parking, and the fine can be increased to 2,000 yuan if the parking violations cause traffic jams.
Vehicles can temporarily park along Hongmian Road and Shenfeng Road. The transportation commission will arrange free buses to carry tomb sweepers to the funeral home and Jitian Cemetery.
On the roads to Baoen Cemetery in Xili, Nanshan District, and Overseas Chinese Cemetery in Dapeng, police will also designate lanes for parking. Police will impose controls on expressways if the exits to cemeteries are congested.
Police estimate heavy traffic on expressways between April 4 and 5, as the toll-free policy will stimulate short trips to neighboring cities and provinces. Police will tighten checks on speeding, DUI and overloading violations.
Shenzhen police will also establish an information-sharing mechanism with neighboring cities and provinces to update the traffic situation on expressways via different media.
Police estimate Shenzhen-Huizhou and Shenzhen-Shantou expressways will be crowded with vehicles April 4 and 5, and advise holidaymakers to stagger their travel times.
Tomb sweepers traveling to Jitian Cemetery can take Metro Line 3 and get off at Liuyue Station before taking a bus.
Tomb-sweeping Day, also known as the Qingming Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday when people pay tribute to deceased family members and friends.
More than 620,000 people in Shenzhen visited cemeteries to honor their deceased love ones during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday last year. A total of 3,273 accidents were reported over the three days between April 3 and 5.