Drivers from other parts of the country will no longer have to worry about getting lost traveling in Beijing with the help of an itinerary map.

Beijing Times reports a mechanism aimed at easing traveling inconveniences for outsiders of Beijing will start in March at all 16 checkpoints entering the city. As long as the drivers tell the police their destination, the police will print out a free itinerary map that leads the way from the checkpoint to their destination.

On the map, drivers can find driving routes, distance, urban traffic network information, as well as the number and type of their automobiles. An official with the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, Jiang Jinhui, says the itinerary on the map is the shortest and the most efficient.

The service is based on a route-seeking system that compiles routes according to different automobile types and the traffic situation. The official warns that drivers must tell the police their automobile type in case some types of automobiles are banned in some areas because of traffic control.

A recent survey shows that more than half of drivers from outside of Beijing are not familiar with the routes in Beijing and eight out of ten want the free itinerary guidance service.

(CRI February 27, 2007)