September 22 is the “World Car Free Day”, when the Xinjiekou area in the center of Nanjing city saw significantly less traffic flow than usual and even showed rarely-seen “car-free” spectacles.
Originating in France in 1998, the World Car Free Day means to encourage people to use cleaner transportation vehicles in order to strengthen people’s awareness of environmental protection. Around 17:00 on September 22, 2013, such sections of Guanjianqiao Bridge, Huaqiao Road, Zhongshan East Road, and so on, in Xinjiekou area of Nanjing city witnessed a lot less traffic flow than before. Even the most congested section of Zhongshan East Road appeared to be “car-free” from time to time. Xinjiekou is the center of Nanjing city, where the traffic is always jammed when it comes to 17:00 every day.
Officer Li from the first squadron of Nanjing traffic police told the reporters that after learning the “Car Free Day”, many residents voluntarily choose to take public transportation for travel. According to his observation, the vehicles in Xinjiekou area have become less than usual by more than a half.