China issues traffic safety warning ahead of Qingming Festival

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday issued an early warning for road traffic safety risks during the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 5 this year.

Based on analysis, the ministry expects road traffic safety risks to arise due to five main factors: the concentrated road traffic flow around tomb areas, driving under the influence of alcohol, an increase in highway traffic accidents, overlapped multiple traffic flows in rural areas, and rain or snow.

The ministry suggested paying close attention in advance to information about local weather and road conditions if planning to travel by car during the holiday, and to plan travel times and routes reasonably to avoid peak travel.