Beijing traffic jams warning

The capital is set to experience heavy traffic jams in the first week of September as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the new semester fall at the same time, the municipal traffic authority has warned.

Officials expect there to be serious congestion on Sept 1, 4, 5, 15, 22, 26, 28 and 29.

The worst days are likely to coincide with the three-day holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, the opening week of the school term and the run-up to the seven-day holiday for National Day (Oct 1), the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said on Thursday.

Sept 28 is expected to see the heaviest traffic as many people will be heading home for the holiday, the commission said.

The authorities plan to take a series of measures to ease the congestion. Subway trains will run more frequently during the rush hours, and extra traffic police patrols will reduce illegal parking.

In addition there will be early warnings and swift updates on the traffic situation to help drivers.