Faster traffic jams

Transit authorities yesterday claimed the city's rush hour traffic moved 7 percent faster last year than the year before, the Beijing Evening News reported.

Beijing imposed a 20,000-car monthly sales quota last year to rein in the rapidly growing number of cars. This, combined with a restriction keeping one fifth of the cars off the roads every day, has helped to ease congestion.

More than 5 million cars are registered in Beijing.