Most of the time, when I hear about a traffic jam on local news or the radio, I roll my eyes and my ears switch off. However, when I heard about this traffic jam in China that has experienced day 9 and is not looking to end yet, my eyes shot wide open.

The traffic jam started on August 14th on the National Expressway 110 (also know as the G110), which serves as a main route from Beijing into Zhangjiakou. “Insufficient traffic capacity on the National Expressway 110 caused by maintenance construction since August 19 is the major cause of the congestion,” said a Beijing Traffic Management Bureau spokesman. How long is this expected to last, I hear you ask. Well, it looks like the Chinese motorists are going to have to twiddle their thumbs for a while yet as officials estimate the jam to carry on until September 13th, once construction projects have been finished.

As a result of a massive increase in the number (17,000 at its peak) of trucks on the roads since May, it seems that the Chinese have already become used to these type of delays as one akin to this jam occured in July, putting traffic to a stop for nearly a month.

400 police officers have been appointed to patrol the traffic jam, where people have joked that “Concerts should be held at each congested area every weekend, to alleviate drivers’ homesickness,”. The travellers in China are even stopping for games of cards and chess whilst they wait. Some are trying to cash in on the jam and are offering food and drinks at their own pricey kiosks, causing complaints from motorists. Truck driver Huang criticised, “Instant noodles are sold at four times the original price while I wait in the congestion. Not only the congestion annoys me, but also those vendors”.

All I can say is that I’m grateful that I’m not one of those motorists.

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