Beijing, Oct 1 (IANS) A mind-boggling 85 million Chinese took to the highways Sunday, the first day of the eight-day long national holiday.
The figure is 13.3 percent more than the equivalent period last year, according to the ministry of transport.
The surge was partially driven by a new government policy that has made most expressways in the country toll free during the holiday period for passenger cars with fewer than seven seats, reported Xinhua.
Sunday was the first day of China's eight-day holiday -- Mid-Autumn Festival Sunday and the National Day holiday from Monday to Sunday.
China's major expressways witnessed heavy traffic from 5 a.m. Sunday, said He Jianzhong, spokesman with the transport ministry.
He said the average speed was under 80 km per hour on major expressways as the number of motor vehicles increased 20 percent to 50 percent from ordinary days.
On some road sections, car accidents caused congestion and slowed the traffic to a speed of less than 20 km per hour, he added.
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