Car lottery

    MORE than 600,000 local residents applied for the 2,933 car plates in the last round of the year’s lottery Monday.

    The chances are becoming slimmer as 4.8 in every 1,000 applicants were lucky enough to get a plate.

    Land auction

    SHENZHEN auctioned off four parcels of land for 10.1 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) Monday to four enterprises, data from Shenzhen Land and Property Transaction Center showed.

    China Merchants Bank paid 5.95 billion yuan for a 35,575-square-meter land lot at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base, where the company will build its global headquarters.

    Charity foundation

    A FOUNDATION dedicated to the development and protection of Chaoshan culture has been established.

    The foundation will initiate construction of the Chaoshan Philanthropic Museum, Guangdong Social Worker Institute and China Philanthropic Headquarters Base in 2017. The total investment is estimated at 5 billion yuan.

    The first phase of construction will be completed within three years.

    The museum will be the first local philanthropic museum which collects charitable items, documents, archives and deeds of philanthropists born in the Chaoshan and southern Guangdong area. The social worker institute will be a training base for social workers in Guangdong Province.

    Holiday congestion

    TRAFFIC congestion will occur on some expressways Friday afternoon as holidaymakers drive away from Shenzhen for the New Year holiday, the city’s transport commission said.

    The commission predicted that the peak time for vehicles leaving the city will start at 3 p.m. Friday, while the peak for vehicles returning to Shenzhen is expected to start at 3 p.m. Sunday.

    Commission officials warned that expressways inside the city such as Longda Expressway, Meiguan Expressway, Jihe Expressway and Yanpai Expressway will see some sections become congested during the peak travel time. Traffic congestion will also occur on some expressways outside of the city, such as Shenzhen-Shantou Expressway and Huizhou-Heyuan Expressway. Officials suggested that residents keep themselves updated about the latest traffic information and stagger their travel time.

    Illegal parking

    SHENZHEN police will tackle illegal parking at hospitals starting Jan. 1 and the practice will be expanded to other commercial parking lots in the city Jan. 10.

    Violators will be fined up to 500 yuan (US$72). Parking lot operators that fail to honor their duty will be fined between 2,000 and 10,000 yuan, police said.

    Shenzhen has a total of 3.2 million registered vehicles, but the number of parking spaces stands at 1.1 million.

    Didi car rental

    HOLIDAYMAKERS can rent a car for travel during the Spring Festival holiday by using a feature on the Didi app that was officially put online in Shenzhen and Beijing yesterday.

    The daily rental fees range between 75 and 109 yuan on workdays depending on the type of car. The holiday fees are slightly higher. Users who rent for more than two days can enjoy a 20-percent discount, plus door delivery and pickup service.