Millions of residents in the Chinese city of Hangzhou have been handed travel freebies by the government to ensure the city is congestion-free during the G20 summit. 

With world leaders and an entire media circus descending on the city, authorities have declared a week-long holiday and shut down industrial plants to ensure the city is smog-free throughout the summit. 

The government has also offered some 2 million residents travel coupons worth more than $1.5 billion and free admission to museums and attractions across China, according to Singapore's Today Online.

The G20 got off to an awkward start yesterday, with US and Chinese officials having a row on the tarmac as US President Barack Obama disembarked from his plane. 

"This is our country. This is our airport," a Chinese official was heard telling a White House press aide irked by a Chinese refusal to allow the press pack to approach Obama. 

The US president subsequently downplayed the issue, saying it was simply the result of a cultural misunderstanding, with China not used to granting reporters the freedom they were accustomed to in the US. 

Hangzhou is the capital of China's Zheilang province and is due to host the 2022 Asian Games. 

This is not the first time the Chinese government has ordered city shutdowns to ensure international events run without a hitch: citizens of both Shenzen and Beijing were given similar week-long holidays when they respectively hosted the 2011 World University Games and 2014 APEC meeting.