Today (February 4, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year) is the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday on the mainland, and many people returning from work and rushing back home for the holiday are once again stuck on the roads. Highways across the country are filled with long lines of traffic. Netizens describe the highways as turning into “parking lots” once again. Some netizens humorously comment, “The front of the car represents daily life, while the back of the car represents hometown.”
Some internet users reported that they set out from Henan for Shanghai, waking up at 5 a.m., leaving before 6 a.m., but driving for 9.5 hours and still not reaching Taizhou in Jiangsu, illustrating the congested traffic conditions on the road. Another netizen mentioned that what was originally a 4-hour drive ended up taking 10.5 hours in the end.
According to a report by Red Star News, starting from February 2 (the fifth day of the Lunar New Year), the traffic flow returning to Hangzhou has been gradually increasing. Significant increases in traffic flow were observed on Hangzhou-Xinchang Expressway and Hangzhou-Huizhou Expressway towards Hangzhou, reaching peak levels on February 4, with an estimated peak traffic volume of 1.3 million vehicles. Several toll stations on the highways easily reached saturation, with queues even spilling over onto the main lanes.
Many netizens took to social media to share videos of the traffic jams they encountered.
“Guanghai Video” mentioned that the return traffic to Guangdong is already heavily congested.
One netizen mentioned spending 3 hours to cover 116 kilometers back to Shenzhen. This was the longest trip they had experienced.
A blogger from Jiangxi, Xiao Feng, stated on February 3 that starting from the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the journey back home was plagued with traffic jams the entire way. Upon reaching the Yida Expressway Service Area in Anhui, the parking lot was nearly full, with the restaurant in the service area also packed with people.
Xiao Feng mentioned that after having a meal at the service area, they continued their journey along the highway. They spent the whole day driving on the highway during the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, facing constant traffic jams along the way, which was truly exhausting.
Some netizens humorously remarked that being stuck on the road on the return trip after the Chinese New Year holiday, signifies that the front of the car represents daily life, while the back of the car represents hometown.