People flock back to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City after Tet holiday

At noon on the 4th day of the Lunar New Year, a line of cars lined up on the Phap Van - Cau Gie highway heading towards the center of the capital. Many people returned to Hanoi early, even though there was still one day left before the 7-day Tet holiday - the longest holiday of the year.

From 10 o'clock, three outer lanes and one emergency lane on the highway leading into the city center, cars were crowded and lined up for more than a kilometer.

Previously, on the afternoon of the third day of Tet, a local traffic jam for several hours also occurred here, when many people started returning to the city two days early.

At the turn to Giai Phong Street, passenger cars and private vehicles moved little by little.

In contrast to the clear direction to the suburbs, on the central lane of the elevated Ring Road 3, the line of cars stretched about 2.5 km from Linh Dam peninsula to Nguyen Xien.

Vu Thu Quyen's family in Thai Binh said that at 8am, the family of four started their journey back to the capital by motorbike, taking nearly 3 hours for 120 km. "We went to Hanoi a day early to avoid traffic jams and to rest before returning to work on the 6th," Quyen said.

Many people return to the capital with gifts from their hometowns. In the photo, two live chickens are tied to the back of a car traveling on Highway 32 into the city center.

A family of four on a motorbike, pulling a homemade two-wheeled cart carrying luggage, ran on Giai Phong Street.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Highway 1 through Binh Chanh District has been crowded since noon today, heading towards the inner city. This is the main gateway to the west of the city, often congested before and after holidays and Tet, when people flock back to the western provinces.

On the more than 3 km stretch from the border of Long An province to the Binh Thuan intersection overpass, the traffic was densely packed. Local congestion occurred at some sections through intersections such as National Highway 1 - Doan Nguyen Tuan, Nguyen Huu Tri... due to the high number of vehicles stopping at red lights.

The weather in Ho Chi Minh City was hot and sunny, with the temperature still hovering around 35 degrees Celsius at 4 p.m., making many people tired on the journey. Some families carrying small children on motorbikes, with a lot of luggage, had to pull over to the side of the road to rest. "I tried to get to Ho Chi Minh City early to avoid traffic jams, but the weather this year is hotter than some Tet holidays in previous years, so driving is very difficult," said Van Thanh, from Dong Thap.

Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, today the number of vehicles also increased from the Western provinces back to Ho Chi Minh City, mostly cars and passenger vans.

At Cat Lai ferry - the eastern gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, people also brought their belongings back to the city after the Tet holiday.

Cars and motorbikes lined up for more than 300 meters to buy tickets for the Cat Lai ferry. As the afternoon wore on, the number of vehicles increased. Many vehicles had to wait more than 15 minutes for their turn. Ferry staff had to increase ticket sales points and staff to limit congestion.