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Fog slows China's post-holiday travel stampede
2007-02-26
Heavy fog closed expressways serving major northern Chinese cities including Beijing, putting a crimp in the travel rush following the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, state media said. Authorities closed expressways linking Beijing with the nearby city of Tianjin and adjacent Hebei province, between Beijing and northern China, and between Tianjin and Shanghai, Xinhua news agency reported. Other highways also were affected, slowing intercity passenger buses transporting tens of millions of holidaymakers back to the cities where they work after a week spent with families. According to the government, about 50 million people a day have been crowding onto trains, buses and airplanes since Friday in a travel rush expected to continue through Tuesday. The Communications Ministry said Sunday that about 232 million passenger trips have been taken on China's roads and waterways between February 18, when the holiday officially began, and Saturday. Tens of millions more have taken to the nation's rail networks and, increasingly, airports. Aviation authorities said Saturday an estimated 3.71 million passengers flew during the holiday, an increase of 21 percent year on year, as more affluent Chinese sought a quicker route for the traditional trip home. More than 2 billion passenger trips are expected to be taken during the 40-day travel season that began on February 3.
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