Hainan tourists remain stranded

More than 13,000 vehicles remained in line for ferry transportation from Hainan province on Thursday evening due to heavy fog that continued to affect normal ferry services at Haikou ports, local authorities said.

Qiongzhou Strait, which links Guangdong province with Hainan, has been shrouded by a heavy fog for seven days, the longest period since 1951, according to the Hainan provincial meteorological department.

Official data show that by Thursday at 11:30 am, 9,825 vehicles had been ferried in the morning. And by 6 pm, there were still 13,251 vehicles lined up for transportation, with many of them having waited more than 14 hours.