Smog blankets Beijing during China's national holiday.

In some areas of the capital, visibility dropped to less than 500 meters on Saturday night and yesterday morning, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The smog came during one of China's peak travel times — the October 1-7 National Day holiday known as Golden Week, when hundreds of millions of Chinese are on the move.

The weeklong holiday is characterized by long lines of traffic and delayed journeys, complicated further yesterday by the partial closure of six inter-provincial expressways, including one linking Beijing and Shanghai.

Authorities in Tianjin closed all 14 expressways in the municipality. In Hebei Province, 13 expressways were closed.

Visibility at Beijing's Capital International Airport was 250 to 500 meters when nearly 44 percent of departing flights were delayed or canceled, and dozens of incoming flights were forced to land in neighboring cities or return to where they came.

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