On the first day of the “Golden Week” holiday, a large number of people took road trips, causing severe congestion on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway which connects Shenzhen and Zhongshan. Some people who set off in the early morning were still stuck in traffic; others reported that vehicles only moved 500 meters in an hour. One netizen mentioned that it took about 9 hours to travel from Shenzhen back to Jiangmen.
From the night of September 30th to the early morning of October 1st, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway experienced a peak travel period, causing significant traffic congestion. Many drivers chose to depart at night to avoid daytime traffic, yet found themselves stranded on the road.
Starting from the early morning of October 1st, several netizens posted updates on social media about the traffic conditions, noting that the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway and surrounding highways were congested. Some mentioned being stuck for over 40 minutes after arriving at the expressway around 5 am, without even getting onto the bridge. Attempting to travel during off-peak hours, some drivers inadvertently created a new traffic peak as many others adopted the same strategy.
According to information shared by netizens, vehicles were at a standstill for long periods on certain sections of the road.
Some netizens vented their frustration, stating, “500 meters in an hour,” “Left at 5 am and stuck on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway for 40 minutes without crossing the bridge,” and “Spent 9 hours on the journey from Shenzhen to Jiangmen.” There were even self-deprecating remarks like, “Feel like going into hibernation in the car.”
According to a traffic update from the Shenzhen Traffic Police released in the early morning of October 1st, traffic control measures were implemented at the Southbound Jiangsu Expressway to Westbound Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway interchange ramp at 6 am.
The Shenzhen traffic management department had previously predicted that starting from the afternoon of September 30th, road traffic in Shenzhen would peak during the National Day holiday. The Shenzhen section of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway was expected to be one of the busiest routes in the province throughout the holiday. Officials anticipated that traffic flow in both directions on October 1st would remain high, potentially reaching the peak for the entire holiday period, mostly consisting of short-distance private vehicle travel.
As per the forecast, traffic flow on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Expressway in both directions is expected to remain high from October 2nd to 5th. Return traffic is projected to gradually increase starting from October 6th, with the peak return flow possibly continuing into the early hours of the following day on October 7th, especially towards Shenzhen.