People coming home to mourn their deceased loved ones on the upcoming Tomb Sweeping festival this weekend will be allowed into almost all of Beichuan County, which was nearly flattened in the devastating May 12 earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province last year.

The county has been shut down since the 8.0 magnitude quake for disinfection purposes and hazards from the ruined buildings and landslide areas.

Local police have set up four checkpoints to turn away unnecessary vehicles and ensure smooth traffic flow. Only Beichuan local residents carrying their ID cards will be allowed into the county seat at the last checkpoint, the Chengdu Evening News reported.

However, police warned that people should still keep away from the cordoned-off areas in the county seat, where it has been raining since Tuesday.

The county seat is scheduled to be open from Wednesday to Saturday. This year's traditional Tomb Sweeping Festival, or Qingming Festival starts on Saturday and lasts till Monday. The pressure on security and transportation will be much strained in the coming days, police say.

Mourners can choose to ride on 15 shuttle buses provided by the local government which will enjoy green passage into and out of the county seat despite the traffic control measures.

Meanwhile, a 13-member disinfection team, which stayed behind in the aftermath of the quake, will carry out regular sterilization measures to prevent disease outbreaks.

Between 15,000 and 16,000 people in Beichuan were estimated to have been killed or counted as missing in the May 12 earthquake.