Beijingers Didn't Travel Far for May Day, but Returning Traffic Heaviest Since CNY

This year, China saw its first five-day May Day holiday break in 12 years. It also happened to coincide with the dropping of Beijing’s quarantine requirements for visitors and returnees, meaning that the city's residents could go even farther afield during the much-anticipated vacation.

As a result, Beijing was the fifth most departed-from city in China over the holiday. Unfortunately, however, the announcement regarding relaxed quarantine restrictions was too little too late for bigger travel plans, so the majority of Beijingers made the most of nearby destinations, with over 60 percent of travelers staying within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, according to data released by Baidu Maps.

Regardless of where they managed to escape to, returnees have since caused a spike in incoming traffic, marking the heaviest congestion since Chinese New Year. Congestion was recorded across the city from yesterday afternoon through to this morning and was particularly heavy on the Fourth Ring Road, according to the Municipal Traffic Commission. In its efforts to reboot the economy, Beijing is not yet looking to reinstate odd- and even-day license plate restrictions, lifted on May 1, which has further exacerbated the congestion, reports Beijing News.

Despite the traffic, their efforts seem to be working, with the holiday proving a great boon for tourism in a number of major Chinese cities. Beijing ranked the tenth most popular destination and saw more than 4.6 million tourists flock into the city. Though that's just 55 percent of the number of May Day tourists the capital saw last year, the number was still hailed by the municipal government as a sign of successful recovery.

Good weather meant that outdoor destinations like Chaoyang Park and Olympic Park were also thriving, despite the fact that many of these attractions required advanced booking (with no word yet on when those will be lifted). The holiday also saw the reopening of 19 of the city's museums, resulting in the reported cultural enlightenment of more than 50,000 visitors. Prior to the holiday, indoor exhibitions were banned, so resumption of regular operations indicates another move toward normalcy, a trend that will hopefully continue as we approach China's next major national holiday: Dragon Boat Festival at the end of June.

READ: Now That Travel is Back On, Book These Flights While They're Still Cheap

Images: Beijing News, Olympic Park