Residents of Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as they said goodbye to the worst of the heavy fog that stifled the city for two days.

Air and road traffic, which had ground to a standstill on Tuesday and Wednesday, operated as normal yesterday. Passengers whose flights had been rescheduled set off for their destinations.

An official at the local Shuangliu airport said: "Flights have been operating as normal since this morning. The fog is dispersing and visibility is good."

The okay message was confirmed by an official in charge of road traffic on the motorway network connecting Chengdu and other major cities.

The fog, which began to blanket Chengdu on New Year's Day, snarled traffic flow and forced people to spend their three-day holiday at home instead of going out to shops or carnivals as is traditional.

Chengdu resident Zhao Xuxiu, 55, said: "The fog was really heavy. In the past, we were hit with foggy days at around this time but it simply hung around for a few hours and then cleared up.

"But this year, it lasted for so long - from dawn to dusk. I had to stay inside. I couldn't go outside for a walk or to visit friends." she said. "I could not even see an object one or two metres away," she added.

Chen Yunli, 24, said she was pleased that the fog lifted yesterday.

She said: "It was a day of relief. I could not bear the boring time spent indoors, watching TV all day. I went shopping with my friends this morning and tonight we will let ourselves go at a disco."

Meteorological experts said the scale of the fog this year was unprecedented, though foggy days are frequent in Chengdu, which is enclosed by Sichuan Basin. The lack of cold fronts from outside create conditions for fog.

The local airport had to close for up to 18 hours. This resulted in 16 outward flights being postponed, affecting more than 2,200 passengers. Seventeen inward flights were also affected.

Road traffic was also hit. Five major motorways linking Chengdu with neighbouring cities were closed, some for the first time ever.

But things began to improve yesterday. Local people contacted by China Daily said the city traffic was back to normal.

( China Daily January 04, 2002)