China Sees 2.1 Billion Trips During 7-Day National Day Holiday; 24.15 Million Rail Passengers Return in One Day

The waiting hall at Longyan Station in Fujian Province is crowded with passengers on Oct. 6, near the end of China’s National Day holiday. CMG

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More than 2.1 billion passenger trips were made nationwide during China’s National Day holiday. On the final day of the holiday, more than 24 million passengers were expected to travel by rail alone, with return trips continuing, particularly to major cities.

According to China Media Group (CMG), China’s Ministry of Transport estimated that 2.144 billion interregional passenger trips would be made over the seven days from Oct. 1 to 7. That works out to an average of about 306 million trips per day, up 0.7% from the same period last year.

Rail travel in particular remained high through the end of the holiday. The number of rail passengers exceeded 20 million a day for three consecutive days, from Oct. 5 to 7. On Oct. 6, 21.605 million people traveled by train.

Return travel peaked on the final day of the holiday, Oct. 7. Nationwide rail passenger numbers were forecast to reach 24.15 million that day, and Chinese railway authorities added 2,449 passenger train services. Passenger numbers were concentrated on routes serving major cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an and Wuhan.

In the Shanghai area, 4.15 million people were expected to travel by rail in a single day, prompting the addition of 210 overnight high-speed train services. In the Guangzhou area, 765 train services were added to meet return-trip demand that was higher than usual.

Most travel took place by road. According to CMG, road trips during the holiday exceeded 1.96 billion, accounting for more than 90% of all trips. Private cars accounted for about 80% of road travel. Travel by new energy vehicles increased 35% from last year. Air passenger numbers averaged about 2.4 million a day.

During China’s National Day holiday this year, travel to visit family and leisure trips surged simultaneously, with around 300 million interregional trips made each day from the first day of the holiday through the last. In the latter half of the holiday, return trips to major cities in particular drove a sharp increase in rail and highway traffic.

※This article was produced using material provided by CMG China News.

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