Shuttle bus services will be provided at 13 Metro stations of Shanghai from Saturday until Tuesday in a bid to relieve some of the traffic congestion expected as people head to the city's cemeteries for the winter solstice, the subway operator said yesterday.
Volunteers will be used to keep order at Metro stations and crowd-control methods will be employed as required, it said.
The winter solstice, or dongzhi, is a time when Chinese people pay their respects to the departed by visiting the cemetery and sweeping their tombs. This year it falls on Tuesday, and about 2.5 million people are expected to visit cemeteries in the days and weeks running up to it.
Most of the city's 44 cemeteries are in the Pudong New Area, and Jiading, Baoshan, Fengxian and Qingpu districts.
