Roads groan under strain of holiday traffic

With the city's roads jammed with traffic during the long weekend, the Beijing Capital Highway Development Group, the organization that manages toll routes, was doing all it could to keep drivers moving.

An official, surnamed Wang, from the State-owned company said it had brought in four initiatives this year.

Wang said extra staff were working in toll booths while contra-flow lanes were carefully managed throughout the weekend. The company also launched a telephone reservation system for groups of vehicles traveling together through toll gates and opened more electronic toll lanes.