military vehicle parade

More Inconveniences for Beijingers Announced Ahead of September 3 Holiday

Car use limited, subway station closures to be announced

If you don’t want to be bothered more than usual in Beijing, it’s probably best to head somewhere else for the upcoming September 3 holiday.

Beijing residents are being warned about a number of inconveniences as China gets ready to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression with a military parade held on September 3, China’s newest holiday.

We’ve already told you how the city is already planning to shut down Beijing International Airport as well as Nanyuan Airport in the south of the city, but the changes don’t stop there. Car restrictions will be enforced on Beijing roads in the 15 days leading up to the event. From August 20 until September 3, a single-odd license plate quota system will limit half of all Beijing cars from hitting the streets on a daily basis.

The single-odd licence plate restrictions were enforced previously ahead of major international events in order to improve the city’s poor air quality, such as during last year’s APEC summit, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and presumably for the future 2022 Beijing Olympics.

But that’s not the only disruption to Beijing’s transportation system. Beijing will close subway stations and limit service to various public transportation lines during the September 3 morning parade, but will only disclose details five days in advance.

Meanwhile, Beijingers are also prohibited from buying their own aircraft until August 21. Furthermore, private and commercial use of aircraft in the skies above the Chinese capital will be banned from August 22 until September 4.

Tiananmen Square stopped accepting visitors at the beginning of this month and will be off-limits to the public until September 7. As well, the road along Chang’an Avenue is said to be “explosion-proof” after upgrades were made to the road in July.

Although China misses out on getting a holiday this year for Mid-Autumn Festival, workers will get the day off from work on September 3 to celebrate the “victory over fascism”, leading to a mini-holiday on September 3, 4, and 5. As a result, September 6, a Sunday, is designated a regular work day in China this year.

Charles Liu

The Nanfang's Senior Editor