THIS is the astonishing moment China’s 36-lane highway is brought to a standstill as 10 million cars headed home after a national holiday.
Footage shows the 24-hour traffic jam at Wuzhuan toll station, which left thousands stranded with “no way out”.
AFPChina’s 36-lane highway is brought to a standstill as cars headed home after the national holiday[/caption]
AFPSome 10 million cars are thought to have amassed on the highway[/caption]
The Wuzhuang toll station is the largest in China and consists of 36 lanes.
Video shows endless lines of red light filling the lanes before converging into just four at the toll booths.
According to authorities, roughly 120,000 vehicles passed that day.
The unusually long queues were caused by millions of locals returning home after a national holiday, which spans across eight days from October 1 to October 8.
Officials desperately urged residents to seek alternative routes in a bid to ease the congestion.
Shenzhen’s subway and bus line even extended their operating hours to draw pressure away from the road.
Clips of the mammoth queues have gone viral online with some drawing parallels with India‘s traffic jams.
One user said: “Gotta always be ready with food, water, blankers, and a portable toilet lol.
“I always keep an empty tin can in my car just in case!” “Chaos looks beautiful when you are not in it”
While another added: “Average day in Gurgaon.”
China boasts more than 100,000 miles of motorways – more than any other country in the world.
A staggering achievement, considering the country had no motorways at all in 1988.
Earlier this year, the Huangjuewan Interchange in Chongqing went viral for its loop-the-loop style roads.
The 12-storey tangle of tarmac features 15 ramps, 20 junctions, and enough twists and turns to spin anyone out of control.
World’s worst traffic jams
China, 2010. The most famous and longest jam in history, lasting 12 days and stretching over 60 miles on China’s National Highway G110.
France, 1980. This was a 109-mile jam.
East and West Germany, 1990: The jam with the most vehicles involved 18 million cars over the Easter weekend after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
São Paulo, Brazil, 2009: This city saw over 182 miles of traffic congestion on 522 miles of road.
One user said: “You can visit, but you can never leave.”
Some even joked it was enough to make any sat-nav system lose its mind.
“My GPS told me: go where you want and leave me alone!”
Stretching over 10 miles (16.4 km), the labyrinth was originally designed to link the city of Chongqing with its airport and a major expressway.
However, it’s mind-boggling layout has made it a global talking point.
When visiting China 2019 with The Grand Tour, iconic petrol-head Jeremy Clarkson remarked that the country’s road system was “fast becoming the eighth wonder of the world”, and it’s not hard to see why.
AFPHuge amounts of congestion lasted across several days[/caption]
AFPDrivers merge onto expressway lanes after passing through the toll station[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
