Traffic in disaster-hit China has largely been back to normal, with only a few highway sections still being closed due to frozen road surface, the Ministry of Public Security said in Beijing Saturday.

 

Traffic was smooth on the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway, a north-south trunk road.

 

The trunk road saw a surging flow of traffic at the section bordering Guangdong and central Hunan Province, with 3,832 vehicles heading south, up 70 percent from Friday, and 5,760 vehicles heading north, down 20 percent, according to the ministry.

 

In east China's Zhejiang Province, a section of the No. 13 provincial highway, a section of the No. 22 provincial highway and two section of the No. 20 provincial highways remained closed to vehicles because of icy surfaces.

 

Road to the scenic Daming Mountain in Nanning, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, was still sealed, as workers were clearing fallen trees and repairing cave-ins on the road.

 

Six sections of highway in north China's Shaanxi Province were either under traffic control or were blocked at night, the ministry said.

 

More than 140,000 police officers and 45,000 police cars were deployed on roads nationwide to ensure safe and smooth traffic during the traditional Spring Festival.

 

By 6:00 p.m. Saturday, no major accident with three or more killed was reported, according to the ministry.

 

The snow, the heaviest in five decades in many places, has been falling in China's eastern, central and southern regions for almost a month. It has caused death, structural collapse, blackouts, traffic chaos and livestock and crop losses in 19 provinces, municipalities and regions.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2008)