Vehicles inch along in traffic congestion on Sunday at the Chaoyangmen section of the Second Ring Road in Beijing. Zou Hong / China Daily

The capital was choked by 88 traffic jams on Sunday morning, approaching the congestion created earlier this year by heavy snowfall, as Beijing struggles to cope with the large number of vehicles on the road in the run-up to two national holidays, the city's traffic management bureau reported.

A record 140 traffic jams paralyzed the city's road system on Friday evening, as the number of vehicles on the streets exceeded 4.5 million, according to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.

The authority had warned there would be heavy pressure on the roads on Sunday after it was made a work day to accommodate this week's Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as because no traffic restrictions apply on that day.

To minimize bottlenecks, Beijing now limits the number of cars that may be on the road during the week, according to the last number of vehicle license plates.

Traffic was moving slower than 20 km per hour on 88 trunk roads and expressways in Beijing at 9 am on Sunday, Beijing News reported. The morning rush extended an extra hour, according to the report.