Traffic jams as 260,000 celebrate Qingming in Shanghai

BEIJING, April 4 -- More than 260,000 people in Shanghai hit the rail tracks or took long-distance coaches to graveyards today, the first time the Qingming Festival became a national holiday.

Qingming crowds swarmed to nearby cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing for the annual tomb-sweeping day when people pay homage to their ancestors.

Traffic flow at Shanghai Long-Distance Central Bus Station is expected to hit more than 50,000 today, surpassing the previous record of 48,000 on February 4 before the Spring Festival. More than 20,000 passengers flocked to the Southern Long-Distance Bus Station.

Central Bus Station authorities pledged to add 150 extra coaches every day during the three-day Qingming holiday while the southern bus station will add 250.

Extra trips will also be increased at the city's railway stations and rail authorities reminded people to buy their return tickets in advance.

The Qingming crowds also put pressure on the city's highway networks.

The first traffic jams appeared at 5:30am today on expresses to Suzhou, Zhang Zizhan, the chief of highway squad of Jiading traffic police, told Xinmin Evening News today.

"I've never seen such early congestion in my whole seven years working for the squad," Zhang added.

There were twice as many travelers on the road and the rail compared with last weekend, the Xinmin newspaper quoted local tourism agencies as saying.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)