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SCMP Reporters

It's Beijing, but not as you know it.
With empty streets, spacious subway trains and not a traffic jam in sight, the city today was a very different place to usual - and even the skies were blue.
Beijing's empty business district was just one indication that Lunar New Year is fast approaching, leading vast numbers of the city's migrant workers to return to their homes across the country.
The ghost town's air quality was this morning deemed to be "good" according to the AQI Index, which registered 46
The figure compared to an “unhealthy” 140 average across Hong Kong, while levels tipped 154 in Causeway Bay.


Ghost town: Beijing streets empty after workers head home for Lunar New Year

Traffic in Beijing is normally so bad that a hotel announced a helicopter service for guests earlier this year. Photo: Imaginechina

Subway trains which are normally packed with commuters now have plenty of space. Photo:Imaginechina

Unusually for Beijing, even the sky is blue and the air quality index is 'good' at 46. Photo: Imaginechina

Migrant workers in Beijing have left to go home for Lunar New Year, leaving the streets empty. Photo: Imaginechina

Beijing's traffic is so notoriously bad that in 2013, Chinese Internet users called it the 'capital of traffic jams'. That's not the case today. Photo: Imaginechina

Don't expect the clean air to last though: the air quality is supposed to get worse after new year's fireworks. Photo: Imaginechina

As migrant workers leave the city for the new year, anyone left is treated to the rare sight of empty roads.  Photo: Imaginechina

Clear roads are a treat for residents. In August 2010, a traffic jam lasted for ten days. Photo: Imaginechina

The Beijing subway normally has huge crowds, but even that is quiet today. Photo: Imaginechina

Some subway stations are almost deserted. Photo: Imaginechina

The empty business district will be flooded with crowds again once the new year holiday is over. Photo: Imaginechina

News

China

With empty streets, spacious subway trains and not a traffic jam in sight, Beijing today was a very different place to usual - and even the skies were blue.


Lunar New Year

Infographics