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December 22, 2014

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Tomb sweeping traffic jams

POLICE have warned of congestion on city roads today as residents visit cemeteries to sweep the tombs of deceased relatives.

Worst affected areas are likely to be Jiading, Qingpu, Fengxian and Baoshan districts and the Pudong New Area, where a number of cemeteries are located, said traffic police.

The S2, S4, S5 and G50 highways are expected to see the most serious congestion, traffic police said.

City roads were already clogged with traffic yesterday as residents made the visit ahead of dongzhi today — which literally means “the extreme of winter” and marks the winter solstice.

Dongzhi, which usually falls between December 21 and 23, is a time when Chinese people pay their respects to deceased relatives by sweeping their tombs.

The weekend before dongzhi is usually a peak time for tomb sweeping and for interring ashes.

Many city residents appear to have opted for yesterday to make trips to pay their respects over the weekend.

City authorities reported that yesterday 605,700 residents visited 54 cemeteries and halls where ashes are interred — up more than 63 percent on Saturday’s number.

This brought an extra 63,500 vehicles onto the roads leading to cemeteries, an increase of more than 55 percent from Saturday.

More than 5,300 urns were interred yesterday, up almost 42 percent on Saturday, said officials.

Police used helicopters to conduct air patrol and real-time monitoring of traffic yesterday.

According to traditional Chinese beliefs, yin and yang energies reverse after reaching their extremes at dongzhi.

After dongzhi, yin energy declines and yang energy starts to rise, according to traditional beliefs.

At dongzhi, many people have family get-togethers and eat dumplings, especially in the northern part of China.




 

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