Roads were widened, six new subway lines were opened, 4, 000 extra taxis were let loose on the road, fresh paint was slathered on buildings, truckloads of flowers were put up, city lights were upgraded and the capacity of the Hongqiao International Airport was increased by 60%.
Today, an estimated 125, 000 cars travel daily in each direction with 250 more cars piling on every day on roads that haven't been widened in decades despite the rising car population.