Front page, Oct 1, 2012

2012: Huge traffic jams

Huge traffic jams occurred on many of the country's highways on the first day of an eight-day holiday that exempted drivers of most cars from paying tolls across the country for the first time.

The policy, aimed at alleviating holiday road congestion by giving free passage to automobiles with seven seats or less, brought more vehicles to the roads than ever before.

Although the new policy was expected to encourage domestic tourism, it led to traffic congestion and overcrowding at popular scenic areas.

"There were 43.3 million private cars in China in 2011, up 25.5 percent from the previous year. Traffic experts estimated the new policy means 10 billion yuan in highway fees will be saved by the public during the eight-day Golden Week holiday," according to the report.