Tomb-sweeping festival always a busy time
A group burial held at Haigang Lingyuan in the Pudong New Area.
Measures are being implemented to alleviate expected road congestion during the annual tomb-sweeping period.
In China, the Qingming Festival is a time when people pay homage to their ancestors. This year, it falls on April 4.
This year's Qingming Festival is expected to see a large number of tomb sweepers, leading to traffic congestion, with the peak days on March 30-31 and April 4-6, according to the city's civil affairs bureau and transport management and operation center.
The city has 54 cemeteries and columbaria, and traffic congestion is predicted in areas leading to cemeteries.
April 4 will see the largest number of tomb sweepers.
Over the five days, the peak hours will be between 7am and 11:30am, and 1pm and 4:30pm.
People lay flowers at Haigang Lingyuan.
From this Saturday, from downtown and Metro stations, more than 300 shuttle buses will operate on approved routes leading to tombs.
Residents are being urged to stagger their visits to avoid peak days.
Authorities in the Pudong New Area estimated there will be 2.07 million tomb sweepers between Saturday and April 6, bringing an extra 329,700 vehicles onto streets.
Cemeteries in Pudong have been ordered to host group burials and extend tomb sweeping periods to ease traffic jams.
Recently, an eco-friendly group burial ceremony was held at Haigang Lingyuan Cemetery in Pudong.
The event aimed to promote eco-friendly burials among the public, with 54 households attending the ceremony.
They laid flowers for the departed and paid silent tribute.
