A monster traffic jam that was soon snaking back 30 km brought traffic to a standstill on the Beijing-Tibet expressway on Friday -- just four days after another recent logjam was broken.

A driver takes his lunch while waiting in the long traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet expressway on Friday. [China Daily]

The snarl-up was triggered by a car accident and road maintenance.

It was not long before 2,000 vehicles were parked on the road and drivers were praying for a way out.

The jam was the second serious holdup on the road in recent days. Other sections in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei province have also experienced recent congestion.

The previous jam, which started on Aug 14, lasted nine days and trapped thousands of vehicles in a tailback that extended for more than 100 kilometers. That jam was caused by road maintenance work and an exceptionally large number of heavy trucks trying to use the road.

Lu Yong, a 37-year-old truck driver, was unlucky enough to have been stuck in both.

He told China Daily on Friday that he was stranded for two nights and one full day in the last jam - at almost the exact same location.

He broke free just four days ago with his cargo of 31 tons of Hami melons.

"Who knows when the traffic will move again?" the frustrated driver asked. "I should have prepared some food and drink."

Compared with the anxious Lu, Gao Yunming, a 32-year-old bus driver from Zhangjiakou, appeared much more relaxed, passing time by chatting with other drivers and eating deep-fried buns and meat.

Gao said he left home prepared for the worst and brought instant noodles, buns and drinks.

"It is no surprise for experienced drivers to see traffic jams on this highway and, if we are in a hurry, we choose other expressways that cost more to use," Gao said.