Between August 17 and 20, about 1.3 million of the city's 3 million vehicles will be ordered off the streets each day, depending on whether licence plates end in an odd or even number.
The report quoted Du Shaozhong, a spokesman for the Beijing environmental protection agency, as saying air quality would be monitored over the four days to test how much of the city's air pollution disappears.
"In 2001 when we won the right to host the Olympic Games we promised that air quality in the Games would be good," Du was quoted as saying.
See full story