Millions of Chinese tourists began returning to their hometowns on Friday after enjoying their Golden Week, traveling to various destinations in and out of the country for a full week.
As expected, the influx of travelers proved too much for public transport stations and airports, leaving a less than desired experience for commuters. Roads across the country were also flooded with cars as people slowly journeyed back to their home cities or provinces, Xinhua reported (via Shanghaiist).
For those traveling to Beijing on Thursday night, an excruciatingly slow moving, 8 km (5 miles)-long traffic jam left people stranded for more than 5 hours.
During the Golden Week, celebrated this year from October 1 to 7, millions of Chinese take the time off work to travel and spend more money than usual on buying consumer products and other luxuries.
According to the Ministry of Commerce this year’s spending grew slightly compared with last year with a 10.7% increase. Sales of retailers and catering firms posted a total of 1.2 trillion yuan ($US180 billion) during the holiday, reported Reuters.
