The bureau also cautioned drivers via its website that the death toll in road traffic accidents during the National Day holiday had increased 7.8 percent on average each year over the past five years.
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The jam reportedly started at 2pm on the outskirts of Beijing and was caused by the introduction of a new checkpoint that created a bottleneck.
Thousands of cars queued across dozens of lanes as holidaymakers tried to make it home for the end of the week-long National Day festival, which commemorates the creation of the People’s Republic of China. Hundreds of thousands of motorists clogged the 1,412-mile freeway and were caught up in the toll for as far as the eye (or in this case, drone) could see.
But the scenes were also repeated on many expressways across the country.
An incredible 50 lanes of motorway were gridlocked after a new checkpoint were installed outside the capital, causing a nightmare-inducing bottle neck in traffic. It’s one of the few opportunities for people to get time off work and enjoy a long-distance holiday.
As many as 750 million people – half the population – were on the move over the hols.
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These tourist attractions received 3.38 million visitors Tuesday, slightly down from the 3.6 million registered at the same period previous year due to Typhoon Mujigae, which has left 15 people dead or missing in south China since its landing Sunday and brought continuous storms there.
