Holiday travel rush to arrive tonight

Writer: Han Ximin  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From:  | Updated: 2019-04-04

Holidaymakers for the three-day Qingming Festival holiday that starts tomorrow are advised to stagger their travel as traffic on outbound expressways is expected to rise at 3 p.m. today.

Based on big data, Shenzhen’s transport commission estimates that the travel peak on major outbound expressways will arrive at around 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Passenger cars with seven seats or fewer taking expressways will be exempted from tolls during the holiday.

The city’s transport hubs and checkpoints are also expected to experience heavy flows of travelers at around 5:30 p.m. today, with the peak estimated to arrive at 7:30 p.m.

Local traffic police will impose traffic controls on roads to major cemeteries, including Shenzhen Funeral Home, Jitian Cemetery, Baoen Fudi in Nanshan and Overseas Chinese Cemetery in Dapeng, for people commemorating their deceased loved ones this Qingming, which is also known as Tomb-sweeping Day.

Vehicles can temporarily park along Hongmian Road and Shenfeng Road in Longgang District. The transport commission will arrange free buses to carry tomb sweepers to the funeral home and Jitian Cemetery.

Tomb sweepers traveling to Jitian Cemetery can take Metro Line 3 to Liuyue Station before taking a bus.

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 exits to cemeteries are congested.

As the weather is dry, temperatures are high and the wind is strong, the Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow warning for wild fire ahead of the Qingming Festival, warning tomb sweepers against burning paper while paying respects to their deceased ones.

The Ministry of Public Security has warned the public around the country of major traffic safety risks ahead of Tomb-sweeping Day. Road safety may be threatened by rain forecasted for southern China, the holiday travel peak and the large number of people visiting cemeteries by car, the ministry said.

Safety risks may also arise on rural roads, the ministry noted, adding that over the past three years, 40 percent of the accidents on rural roads during the Tomb-sweeping Day holiday were fatal.

Chinese railway police have increased patrols at railway stations against theft, fraud and robbery. Efforts have also been made to enhance patrols along railway lines to watch for fire risks.

Tomb-sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese holiday when people pay tribute to the deceased by burning joss sticks and paper.