qingming parking

So Qingming (清明节/Tomb Sweeping Day) is coming up next Friday, and this year, for the first time in the history of the PRC, it will be a public holiday. This means that people will have time to visit their ancestors’ tombs and pay their respects, and it seems the Beijing city government, at least, is preparing for an onslaught of respect-payers. The Beijing News/新京报’s Wang Shu reports that parking could be tight at Babaoshan:

清明八宝山停车位紧张

 Babaoshan parking under strain at Qingming

车位仅3000；警方公布4个公墓安保方案

Only 3000 places; police announce four cemetery security plans

清明节期间，八宝山地区因一原有停车场封闭，交管部门临时开辟路侧停车位，停车泊位将较往年略有减少，总量仅达3000个。昨日，北京市交管局相关负责人透露了这一消息。

Over the Qingming holiday period, because a carpark has been closed in the Babaoshan area, the transport management department will open temporary roadside car parking spaces, but the parking spaces will be fewer than in previous years, with the total number reaching only 3000, the relevant authority in the Beijing Municipal Traffic Management Bureau revealed yesterday.

市交管局相关负责人介绍，扫墓必经路段上庄东街北段至梁公庵路口，今年拟临时改为单行路，只允许车辆由南向北单向 行驶。此外，上庄大街仅半幅封路，开辟清明临时停车场，约可停放300辆机动车。因停车资源有限，建议有车族放弃自驾车，选乘公共交通工具。据往年惯例， 清明期间每天9时至11时、14时至15时为两个高峰时段，自驾车最好避开高峰期。

The relevant authority in the municipality Traffic Management Bureau said, to sweep tombs one must pass the section of road from the northern section of Shangzhuang East Road to the entrance of Lianggongan Road. This year it is planned to make that a temporary one-way street, and vehicles will only be allowed to drive from south to north. Also, half of Shangzhuang Dajie will be closed, opening a temporary Qingming carpark capable of holding 300 vehicles. Because of the limitations on car parking space, it is recommended that motorists give up driving themselves and take public transport. Based on previous years’ experience, peak hours over the Qingming period will be from 9 to 11 in the morning and 2 to 3 in the afternoon, and drivers had best avoid these peak periods.

据其介绍，与往年相比，因八宝山地铁站北出站口封闭施工，乘坐地铁须选走南出站口，穿过长安街。届时，长安街南出 口附近的人行过街通道，将有指定交警把守，确保群众安全通过；因火化场清明期间照常施工，革命公墓通往火化场的通道暂无法满足大型车辆通行需求，仅允许小 轿车通过。

According to this, compared with previous years, because the north exit of Babaoshan subway station is closed due to construction work, subway passengers must leave from the south exit and cross Changan Jie. At the time, the pedestrian crossing near the south exit on Changan Jie will have traffic police guards assigned to ensure the safety of the public; because the crematorium will be under construction as per normal, the route from the Revolutionary Cemetery to the crematorium will temporarily not be able to handle large volumes of traffic, and only cars will be allowed to pass.

该负责人说，清明放假三日内，市区至八宝山公墓各主要路口，均将设置临时卡点，以及时疏导拥堵、处理交通事故。

This source said, during the three-day Qingming holiday, all the major intersections leading from the city area to Babaoshan will have temporary blocks in order to promptly clear up congestion and deal with traffic accidents.

Alright, so I’ve taken some pretty big liberties with part of that, and seriously fudged others, because I couldn’t quite get my head around some of those sentences. Corrections are most welcome.

Anyway, I think “因停车资源有限，建议有车族放弃自驾车，选乘公共交通工具。” is my all time favouritest sentence I’ve read in Chinese so far. Firstly, because of the 族 at the end of 有车族, almost as if car owners where a separate ethnicity. Alright, that’s me drawing unnecessary connections between different meanings and usages of one character, and it’s no different from the English word “motorists”, really, but I liked it. But mostly I liked its “Get out of your cars and take the bus!” attitude.