A campaign was just been launched in Beijing calling on citizens to choose other means of transportation when going to work, instead of driving their cars.

The campaign was initiated by the Beijing Association of Online Media and portal websites including Sina and Sohu. It calls for at least one day each month for not driving to work, aiming to reduce the heavy pollution in the Chinese capital.

Sina.com is currently providing a special webpage for drivers to sign their names.

A survey by Beijing-based The First News shows that over 100 thousand private drivers have signed their names pledging to participate in the campaign.

A car owner surnamed Li said Wednesday to The First News that he chose biking and sharing one car with his wife, though the couple own two cars. Another participant said he found the subway is even faster to get to the office without the annoying traffic jam.

Official statistics show the city has over 2.3 million motocars running, producing over one million tons of pollutants every year.

(CRI August 25, 2005)