BEIJING, Sept 21, 2008 (AFP) - A dense haze hung over Beijing on Sunday as the city lifted wide-ranging measures aimed at clearing the city's notoriously smoggy skies for the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Buildings just blocks away were barely visible in a grey gloom enveloping the city, signalling the end of an unusual stretch of blue skies credited to the anti-pollution steps.

'I guess it is back to normal for us,' said Cao Haiyang, 25, an office worker out shopping with a group of friends.

The measures had included the relocation or temporary shutdown of factories around the city, a halt to construction activity and strict driving restrictions.

They were implemented July 20 to cut down on Beijing's infamous air pollution and traffic congestion for the August 8-24 Summer Olympics and the subsequent Paralympics, which ended last Wednesday.

But the measures were to last only two months until September 20.

Traffic in Beijing was light on Sunday but is expected to return to its normally gridlocked state when millions of commuters hit the roads on Monday.

The draconian moves appeared to bring unusually clear air during the Games. The city's traffic gridlock also was noticeably reduced.

Authorities said earlier this month the city enjoyed its best air quality in a decade thanks to the measures.

The apparent success of the steps led to calls for them to be made permanent.

State-controlled media had publicised several surveys showing a majority of people supported making the driving curbs permanent despite the inconvenience to commuters in the congested capital.

Those restrictions limited motorists to driving on alternate days and removed more than more than one million of the city's 3.3 million vehicles from the streets.

Earlier official statements also indicated the government was considering extending the measures.

But a city official confirmed last week the measures would be lifted, though he said the government may consider unspecified ways of limiting pollution in the future.