China sees safer Spring Festival holiday in 2019

BEIJING -- The 2019 Spring Festival holiday from Feb 4 to 10 saw fewer criminal cases and traffic accidents compared with last year, according to China's Ministry of Public Security Monday.

Criminal cases received by police across the country during the holiday went down 11.5 percent from that of the 2018 Spring Festival holiday, along with 42.3 percent fewer traffic accidents involving casualties, the ministry said in a press release.

The 2,405 large-scale public events held in the holiday concluded safely and orderly, and the order at key tourist sites was well maintained.

During the week-long holiday, police departments have intensified patrol at key places, including tourist attractions, railway stations and sites of major public activities, and enhanced their crackdown on criminal activities such as gambling and telecom fraud.

Traffic police dispatched a daily average of 170,000 officers and more than 60,000 vehicles to cope with the holiday travel rush.