traffic jam in China will last until mid-sept

[JTsyo]

China traffic

BEIJING — Thousands of vehicles were bogged down Monday in a more than 100-kilometre (62-mile) traffic jam leading to Beijing that has lasted nine days and highlights China's growing road congestion woes.

The Beijing-Tibet expressway slowed to a crawl on August 14 due to a spike in traffic by cargo-bearing heavy trucks heading to the capital, and compounded by road maintenance work that began five days later, the Global Times said.

The state-run newspaper said the jam between Beijing and Jining city had given birth to a mini-economy with local merchants capitalising on the stranded drivers' predicament by selling them water and food at inflated prices.

That stretch of highway linking Beijing with the northern province of Hebei and the Inner Mongolia region has become increasingly prone to massive jams as the capital of more than 20 million people sucks in huge shipments of goods.

Traffic slowed to a snail's pace in June and July for nearly a month, according to earlier press reports.

The latest clog has been worsened by the road improvement project, made necessary by highway damage caused by a steady increase in cargo traffic, the Global Times said.

China has embarked in recent years on a huge expansion of its national road system but soaring traffic periodically overwhelms the grid.

The congestion was expected to last into mid-September as the road project will not be finished until then, the newspaper said.

The roadway is a major artery for the supply of produce, coal and other goods to Beijing.

I'm not sure how long people actually spend on the road but seems the traffic hasn't lightened in the last 9 days. It stretches 62 miles so at 5mph it would take them 20 hours+. You would have to be crazy to wait at the tail end of that.

 

[Ika]

get the scientists working on the tube technology...

 

[rivan]

Jetpacks.

 

[Alienwho]

One more reason as to why China is a country that I have no desire to ever visit.

 

[techs]

The solution:

 

[ElFenix]

hate to have to get to the airport through that

 

[OCGuy]

Even though everyone else is going 5MPH, you can bet your ass that there is an old chinese grandma in the fast lane going 2MPH.

 

[Wyndru]

I love when they put it like this, it makes it seems like your stuck in traffic for days. Basically they are just saying that there will be road construction that will slow down traffic in that stretch of road, until the construction is done.

 

[Sluggo]

It stretches 62 miles so at 5mph it would take them 20 hours+

And you never have to pee so bad as when you are stuck in traffic.

 

[PricklyPete]

If I was in traffic all the time like that...I think my love for cars would diminish a good bit.

 

[JTsyo]

Slashdot post had pictures from the actual traffic rather than the stock traffic picture. It seems to be more commercial traffic than anything else.

Slashdot post

 

[Wyndru]

Slashdot post had pictures from the actual traffic rather than the stock traffic picture. It seems to be more commercial traffic than anything else.

Slashdot post

Wow, in some of those pics they are stopped. I guess they are completely jammed. I thought they just meant slowed down. That would suck.

 

[HumblePie]

at 5mph it would be quicker to walk, or take a bike.

 

[Oceandevi]

The "mini -economy" ruins my day. I wanted to see the stories where everyone runs out of gas and they start to riot.

 

[coloumb]

One more reason as to why China is a country that I have no desire to ever visit.

Everyone should spend at least a week in a non-tourist China town [Hong Kong, Beijing, etc have become too "Westernized"]

If you travel from the airport to the main city by taxi - you'll be fine. You should also be fine if you take a tourist trip [taxi, bus, etc] to see the great wall.

The few annoyingly bad things about China [at least in Dalian]:

- Little to no AC or non-willingness to use AC [malls, taxis, buses, etc]
- High humidity or ultra bone chilling winters
- Little to no food quality control unless it's at a fast food joint [KFC, McDonalds] or "high class" restaurants
- "Competition" to get to the front of the line, seats on the bus/train, or overhead bins on airplanes, etc - this makes Chinese appear to be rude when it's actually normal due to the population.

 

[isekii]

someone google map this is report back

 

[nageov3t]

one asian driver scares me, I couldn't imagine billions of them.



but really... this almost reminds me of that one Doctor Who episode where they're just driving around in circles in a traffic jam for an entire generation.

 

[DrPizza]

If the lifespan of all the Chinese products sold at Walmart is any indication, they'll be rebuilding the repaired section of highway again in 2 years.

 

[Anubis]

If the lifespan of all the Chinese products sold at Walmart is any indication, they'll be rebuilding the repaired section of highway again in 2 years.

someone is an optimist

 

[Ika]

If the lifespan of all the Chinese products sold at Walmart is any indication, they'll be rebuilding the repaired section of highway again in 2 years.

I would doubt that - just look at the Great Wall... :awe:

 

[A Casual Fitz]

I love when they put it like this, it makes it seems like your stuck in traffic for days. Basically they are just saying that there will be road construction that will slow down traffic in that stretch of road, until the construction is done.

grammar fail

 

[Svnla]

The few annoyingly bad things about China [at least in Dalian]:

- Little to no AC or non-willingness to use AC [malls, taxis, buses, etc]
- High humidity or ultra bone chilling winters
- Little to no food quality control unless it's at a fast food joint [KFC, McDonalds] or "high class" restaurants
- "Competition" to get to the front of the line, seats on the bus/train, or overhead bins on airplanes, etc - this makes Chinese appear to be rude when it's actually normal due to the population.

When I was in Saigon (HCM City), Vietnam, there was no such thing as line up and wait for your turn. I was waiting in line as I would in the US. After a while, I said screw this and elbow them out

 

[bunnyfubbles]

No surprises here, its a country full of Asian drivers :sneaky:

at 5mph it would be quicker to walk, or take a bike.

~2mph is an average walking speed, 3mph is pretty fast, 5mph is essential power or speed walking or whatever you call it. Good luck "walking" 5mph.

 

[Tristicus]

I lol'd when I read the title.

 

[Kelvrick]

You'd think a train would be more efficient?