New Year traffic set to choke city streets as millions head home

Ninety percent of Beijing's roads are likely to be fully jammed with traffic this week as the days to Chinese New Year tick down, the Beijing traffic management bureau warned yesterday.

With no restrictions on access for private vehicles during the coming holiday, and with people busy visiting friends and delivering New Year gifts, journeys by car are likely to take a lot longer than normal, leading many people to think about alternatives.

"We will walk if we want to move faster," said a woman in her mid 50s, surnamed Zhao, who lives near a Carrefour store close to the China International Exhibition Center.