With millions of visitors expected to swarm the capital for the 60th anniversary celebrations, Beijing traffic authorities are trying to steer people away from cars and taxis and into the subway system.

The most efficient mode of transportation to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City during the National Day holiday, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau suggests, will be through subway lines No 1 and 2. The recommendation comes as the authority released its latest road restrictions and crowd-control measures during the massive holiday season, which is only a week away. The two major tourist sites will be closed for two days from Sept 30 to Oct 1.

Most roads leading to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City will be closed to all vehicles. Buses, taxis and bikes will be prohibited between 7 am and midnight from Oct 2 to 8. Chang'an Avenue, which passes before Tian'anmen Square, will stay open during this timeframe. More traffic restrictions are expected to be released in the coming days, the bureau said.

But the subway service will not be immune to restrictions and the bureau said that subway services will likely be affected. Authorities also said more roads will be closed as Oct 1, the date of the National Holiday, approaches.

As a result of the military parade on Oct 1, all flights to and from the Beijing Capital International Airport that morning will be delayed for over three hours. Flights on Oct 2 may also be affected.

The bureau told the METRO that visitors to major tourist spots during the holiday should hop on a subway or taxi to a vicinity near their choice destination and walk the rest of the way there.

The road restrictions released yesterday on several roads near the Summer Palace and the Fragrant Hills Park are closed to all vehicles; buses are permitted between 8 am and 5 pm from Oct 1 to 8.

Trucks are prohibited to enter roads near the Olympic Green and the Great Wall at Badaling in the daytime between Oct 1 and 8 to ensure road safety.

Meanwhile, the METRO has learned that a small number of public facilities, including gymnasiums, will close for first three days beginning on Oct 1. Officials from shopping malls and entertainment parlors, such as the Sanlitun Village, said that Beijing residents make a call to see if they are open during the first three days of the holiday season. Officials at box offices at Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City said yesterday that they are waiting for a notice from the government about whether to open on Oct 2-3.

(China Daily September 24, 2009)