Brace Yourself: Traffic May Get Worse This Week!

As if it couldn't get any worse, the Beijing Government is expecting Beijing’s already congested peak hour traffic to spike heavily on Christmas Eve. According to the China Daily the government is warning citizens of a busier than normal commute home on Christmas Eve - surprising considering China doesn't officially celebrate the big day.

With popular shopping hot-spots like Solana and Joy City (Xidan) set to be the busiest areas of Beijing on Christmas Eve, if you still haven’t done your Christmas shopping, don’t wait until the last minute this year. Readers may remember the chaos in the lead up to the National Day holiday in October. If the traffic is remotely close to what Beijing experienced then, Santa will have one hell of a battle to get to Beijing by Christmas morning.

Figures released by the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau last week have all but confirmed what we already knew: The traffic is horrific, and it isn't improving. “Beijing buyers snapped up roughly 96,000 cars in November, a year-on-year rise of 33 percent. That figure is expected to hit 100,000 this month, according to official figures.” Bike lanes come peak-hour exist in name only, with the ring roads in particular adopting bike lanes and the emergency shoulders as additional lanes.

If you are thinking you should stay in the office a little longer and leave after peak hour, think again. China Daily says that “Evening shows slated for Happy Valley on Christmas Eve and abundant concerts and performances throughout the city will also mean the congestion could continue until late into the night.”

The best advice The Beijinger can give you is to make sure you have all your Christmas shopping done now and if your work permits, arrive a little earlier on Friday and to give yourself the best chance to avoid the afternoon rush. Take the subway if you can. It can be an undeniably awful experience in peak hour, but it does do what ring road traffic can't - move forward.

If you are like this writer and you are escaping Beijing for the Christmas, plan ahead and allow yourself more time to get to the airport or train station.