BEIJING, Mar. 16-- An estimated 6.5 million locals will be making their annual Qingming Festival pilgrimage to ancestors' graves from April 1, the Funeral Management Division under the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said yesterday.

Some 350,000 vehicles will be used to transport people to the graveyards, mostly located in the suburbs and neighboring cities.

The buses will run between April 1-6, as well as on weekends over four weeks.

Vehicles transporting 12 or more people to neighboring Jiangsu Province will have to gain a special pass. From tomorrow, the permits can be applied for at the Shanghai General Team of Traffic Police.

The team also said it will erect temporary signs indicating directions to graveyards on related roads and highways.The festival is a time when Chinese visit their family graves with the belief that the spirits of their deceased ancestors will look after the family.

This year's Qingming Day, April 5, and the weekend before it, will witness the highest traffic peak, officials said.Nine cemeteries, including Binhai Guyuan in Fengxian and the Fushouyuan in Qingpu, two of the city's largest, said they will charge half fare for their buses if people pay tribute on the afternoons of these three days.

People tend to usually choose mornings to sweep tombs, fearing that the afternoon is less auspicious.

Twenty-three cemeteries said they will offer free parking if people don't visit on a peak day.

"We hope the discounts can ease the traffic burden, disperse the crowds in graveyards, and thus, reduce chances of an accident," said Lu Chunling of the funeral management division.

(Source: Shanghai Daily news)