China sees surge in air, rail travel bookings as Labor Day holiday approaches

China sees a surge in air and rail travel bookings as the five-day Labor Day holiday approaches

This year's Labor Day holiday lasts from May 1 to May 5, and people are already planning their travels during the five-day holiday.

Data from online booking platforms show that travel enthusiasm during the Labor Day holiday will be higher than last year. Airline ticket bookings for popular cities have been rising by about 40 percent in a single day.

Data from Umetrip.com shows that more than 2.2 million domestic airline tickets have been booked for the holiday period, up nearly 62 percent from a week ago; more than 690,000 tickets have been booked for inbound and outbound routes, up about 17 percent from a week ago.

The top 10 popular domestic destinations are Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Chongqing, Kunming and Wuhan.

In addition, Zhao Nan, director of industry development at Umetrip.com, said outbound travel is also a popular choice during the five-day holiday, and the number of outbound travelers is expected to reach a record high.

"We are expecting high demand for outbound travel during the Labor Day holiday, and the number of travelers to neighboring countries such as Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, especially to countries offering visa-free access for Chinese travelers, is expected to grow more significantly. Based on current air ticket bookings, Seoul, Hong Kong, China, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Macau, China, London and Sydney are the most popular outbound destinations," said Zhao.

As demand rises, so does the price of airfare. As of April 16, the average price of domestic tickets booked for the holiday was nearly 1,000 yuan (about 138.17 U.S. dollars), up nearly 40 percent from the week before the holiday, basically at the same level of the 2023 holiday period. Duan Qiao, head of international airline ticket business at LY.com said international airfares are also on the rise.

"The average international airfare for travel during the Labor Day holiday is over 3,000 yuan (about 414.46 U.S. dollars), with the average international airfare booked for departures on May 1 approaching 4,000 yuan (about 552.62 U.S. dollars). Airfares for popular destinations and periods are likely to continue to rise due to high demand," said Duan.

Train tickets are also in high demand. Data from 12306.cn, China's official rail ticket booking website, shows that tickets between many cities sell out quickly, leaving queues on the waiting lists.

The railway departments urged travelers who failed to buy the tickets they want to expand the scopes of date, train and seat on their waiting lists. In addition, the railway departments said they would also increase the frequency of trains according to demand.

China sees surge in air, rail travel bookings as Labor Day holiday approaches

People in Palestine have expressed their support for efforts to secure peace by their leaders as the two Palestinian factions have met in Beijing under Chinese mediation.

At the invitation of China, representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) recently came to Beijing for in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation, and achieved positive progress, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.

The two sides agreed to continue this dialog process and strive for the early realization of Palestinian unity and reached an agreement on the next step of dialog, according to the spokesman Lin Jian.

In interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the talks between Fatah and Hamas, the Palestinian people in the war-torn Gaza Strip commended China for brokering this meeting, calling for a solution to restore peace and normal life of the people.

"We appreciate the Chinese role, but the problem unfortunately lies in the inability of the factions to find a solution. They must find solutions for us after all this that we have lived through. I believe an alternative body must be found to run the country," said Khaled Al-Mughrabi, a displaced Palestinian.

"We hope that we will return to Gaza soon to live in our cities like the rest of the residents of Palestine. Regarding the news we hear about Fatah and Hamas meetings under Chinese sponsorship, we hope that China will succeed in this role and can pave the way for reaching an agreement that will end these difficult circumstances in which we are living," said Am Muhammad Taima, a Palestinian refugee.

"We hope that it will build on what was previously agreed upon through these meetings in Beijing, and that we will start a new page, especially in the face of these complex political and security circumstances facing the people of Gaza and the West Bank as a result of this aggression condemned by all countries of the world," said Sufyan Matar, a member of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Front.

The internal division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into a Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and a Fatah-dominated West Bank. Over the past 17 years, the two rivals have reached several agreements and understandings.

The Palestinian Authority is the Fatah-controlled government body that comprises most major Palestinian factions.

Palestinians hopeful for peace as Fatah, Hamas factions hold talks in Beijing