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Huge jams as locals head to cemeteries for dongzhi
Print Edition
A ROAD accident on an expressway led to huge traffic jam early yesterday when local residents flocked to cemeteries to mark dongzhi.
Roads were jammed before 7am when the accident happened on suburban Shanghai Ring Expressway (G1501) which connects to several major cemeteries in the city.
Drivers were stuck for five hours or more near the Maogang exit in Songjiang District. The road connects to Songhe cemetery.
Police said part of the Shanghai Ring Expressway was closed for repairs, which worsened the blockage.
The driver of one of the vehicles was injured. There were no casualties. Normal traffic only resumed after noon.
About 1.16 million people visited 54 cemeteries, putting 117,200 extra vehicles in the roads — 20 percent more than usual.
Most of the cemeteries in the city are in the Pudong New Area and Jiading, Baoshan, Fengxian and Qingpu districts.
Dongzhi, or winter solstice, is a time when people in parts of China pay their respects to the dead by visiting cemeteries and sweeping tombs.
Some sections of the Outer Ring Road (S20), the S5 Hujia Highway, the G2 Shanghai-Beijing Highway, G50 and S4 highways as well as the section between Wuzhong Road and Huqingping overpass were also congested at 8am, the city’s road traffic management authorities said yesterday.
There was heavy traffic congestion at the Malu exit of Hujia Highway.
“I have been waiting for over two hours. The traffic is moving so slow,” a driver on his way to one of the cemeteries complained.
Authorities allowed vehicles to move without paying toll at the Jiasong exit of G1501 and Xinsiping exit of S2 to clear traffic.
At the Waiqingsong exit of G50, where 700 vehicles were stuck, toll station officials distributed paper tickets to save time.
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