Mainland residents returning home to pay respects to ancestors during Tomb-Sweeping Festival, causing “traffic jams like pig liver” on the roads.

In mainland China, April 4th to April 6th is the Qingming Festival holiday, as crowds of people have begun returning to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors or travel elsewhere. The highways have once again become congested, with some travelers moving only 800 meters in five hours, leading to humorous complaints from netizens questioning whether they are really out for spring outing or stuck in traffic.

According to a report from China Central Television (CCTV), on the 4th, the national highway traffic volume reached around 62 million vehicles, approximately 1.8 times the usual daily traffic volume. Highways have turned into a “pig liver red” gridlock.

Netizens amusingly remarked, “Being clever to set off in the middle of the night, but ended up meeting all the other clever ones on the road.” “Everywhere is congested, a journey that usually takes 2 hours now takes four or five hours.” Some even complained about moving only 800 meters in five hours. Netizens couldn’t help but ridicule, “During this Qingming holiday travel, are we really sightseeing or just ‘sight-blocking’?”

Some netizens expressed, “Even the subway is congested, my daughter said she doesn’t want to go out during holidays anymore.”

Aside from traffic congestion, tourist attractions in Shenzhen were also overcrowded. According to posts on social media by netizens, “The first day of Qingming in Shenzhen’s Wutong Mountain is one word: congested. Visitors are all eager to reach the summit for selfies, but ended up stuck halfway, unable to ascend or descend!” One netizen joked, “Half of Shenzhen’s population is on Wutong Mountain, while the other half is on their way there!”

Netizens lamented, “Mainly because Shenzhen lacks entertainment options other than climbing mountains or shopping malls.”