During China's week-long National Day holiday, millions of tourists took advantage of free highway tolls to travel out of town. But as the holiday comes to a close, many cities are bracing for the onslaught of returning vehicles. But at one of Beijing's key toll gates on Sunday afternoon, the traffic rush was nowhere to be found.

During China's week-long National Day holiday, millions of tourists took advantage of free highway tolls to travel out of town. But as the holiday comes to a close, many cities are bracing for the onslaught of returning vehicles.

During China's national holiday, many travelers took trips to tourist hotspots or back to their hometowns.

Their long drives were made a little easier by the government policy to lift all highway toll fees during the holiday for cars with under eight seats.

Beijing recorded over 1.5 million cars on its highways on the first day of the holiday.

And despite an expected return rush, when I visited this toll gate at Du Jiakan, a place infamous for its car jams, around noon on Sunday, traffic was running well. Drivers attributed the surprisingly smooth traffic to heavy smog that caused some highways to close.

Air pollution in Beijing and its surrounding areas reached the most severe level on Saturday -- bringing a smoggy end to China's Golden Week.

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