SIGNS: China's Golden Week Ended In Nightmare 50-Lane Traffic Jam

China's Golden Week Ends in Gridlock as 'Carpocalypse' Paralyzes Highways

China's Golden Week celebrations ended not with fireworks but with fender-benders as one of the worst traffic jams in recent memory brought the country's busiest highway to a standstill.




Thousands of drivers were trapped Tuesday on the G4 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway in what looked from the sky like a 50-lane parking lot. The chaos unfolded as hundreds of thousands to MILLIONS of travelers tried to head home. But they were at the close of the week-long national holiday and that did not work out well. Online, the massive jam earned grim nicknames like "Carpocalypse" and "Carmageddon."

The gridlock reportedly stretched for miles, with drivers idling for hours as fog blanketed the region. Yet weather wasn't the main culprit. According to The People's Daily, a newly installed checkpoint forced traffic to merge from 50 lanes down to just 20, creating a colossal bottleneck that turned a homecoming rush into a nationwide spectacle. This isn't a great, big deal for the news. In China, traffic. is traffic.




China's highways have seen their share of legendary slowdowns before. In 2010, congestion on the same route between the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Beijing stretched an astonishing 74 miles, lasting 12 days. GYAT! Drivers literally played cards on the pavement, napped in their cars and bought overpriced food and water from hustling vendors.




Then in 2012, the government's tried to waive tolls for the holiday, but that only led to another disaster! More than 85 million travelers were stranded in vehicles that barely inched forward for days.




This year's jam didn't even break records! This is why there aren't a lot of reports on it. L.A., New York and Atlanta...meet your Daddy. China's booming car culture is a major problem.




For now, the G4 remains a cautionary tale. I doubt I go over there anytime soon. I'm scared of being around that many people.

via: https://allhiphop.com/rumors/signs-chinas-golden-week-ended-in-nightmare-50-lane-traffic-jam/