China sees peak return trips as Mid-Autumn Festival holiday comes to end

As the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday comes to its end on Tuesday, holidaymakers across China are in a rush to embark on return trips by train, car or air, making the holiday traffic flow at peak.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mooncake Festival, is traditionally a cherished occasion for family reunions, sparking an annual wave of travel to see loved ones or simply to enjoy time off from work and studies.

According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway), the country's railway network is expected to handle 15.2 million passenger trips on Tuesday, with 1,030 additional train runs being operated.

The peak period of return trips by train will appear from 14:00 to 18:00 on the day, said China Railway.

Railway authorities have been closely monitoring weather conditions and the passenger flow during the holiday season and have increased train service frequency between popular destinations while ensuring safe operation.

"We have launched night-time high-speed train services from Nanning East Railway Station to Liuzhou, Baise, Hezhou, Yulin and Fangchenggang North stations in the province on Tuesday, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Meanwhile, we have deployed 35 additional staff members in the ticket hall, and at security checkpoints and check-in points to guide passengers and ensure safety," said Deng Rui, station master on duty at Nanning East Railway Station of China Railway Nanning Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

As the impact of Typhoon Bebinca weakens, passenger train services on lines from Beijing to Shanghai, Shanghai to Kunming and Hangzhou to Shenzhen have gradually resumed operation.

China's highways are expected to carry more vehicles on Tuesday, especially in the afternoon, causing increasing congestions and higher traffic pressure.

There will also be a peak period for new energy vehicle (NEV) owners to charge their cars from 10:00 to 21:00, while charging facility operators across the country have stepped up efforts to ensure power supply.

At the Changshan service area on the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, employees of the State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company have installed a system that can prevent fuel vehicles from occupying parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles, to ensure enough charging facilities for NEVs.

Huawei's first fully liquid-cooled supercharger station has been put into operation in Kuitun City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is capable of charging 12 NEVs at a same time.

"We will regularly conduct safety inspections on the charging station and screen against potential safety hazards, to provide safe, stable and reliable charging service for NEV owners," said Zhang Fengqi, an employee of the State Grid Kuitun Power Supply Company.

Meanwhile, the country's civil aviation sector is expected to handle 1.85 million passenger trips on Tuesday, an increase of 30.59 percent month on month.

China sees peak return trips as Mid-Autumn Festival holiday comes to end

The death toll in Lebanon from the ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 2,119 since last October, with 10,019 others injured, according to a statement released Monday by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Over the past 24 hours, 36 fatalities and 150 injuries were reported in various regions of Lebanon due to the Israeli attacks, said the statement.

Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces across the Lebanese-Israeli border since Oct 8, 2023, to show solidarity with Hamas.

The Israeli military has been conducting an air campaign in Lebanon, dubbed "Arrows of the North," since Sept 23, marking a significant intensification of hostilities.

Lebanese authorities said an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced over the last year, most of them within the past two weeks.

Israel's mass forced displacement campaign in Lebanon may soon cause major disease outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned as Israel attacks health care centers in the country.

In a press briefing on Tuesday by video link from Beirut, WHO Deputy Incident Manager for Lebanon Ian Clarke warned of disease outbreaks in Lebanon due to crowded conditions in displacement shelters and hospital closures as medics have fled Israel's assault.

"WHO is deeply concerned by the impact of the recent escalation of violence on the health system in Lebanon, including the rising number of attacks on health care workers and facilities. Since September 16, attacks on health care had been recorded leaving behind 65 deaths and 40 injuries among health staff. Health facilities had been greatly impacted: more than 96 primary health care centers and health facilities had been forced to close in the south due to rising hostilities, five hospitals were reported non-functioning due to physical or infrastructural damage, and an additional four hospitals have been partially evacuated," he said.

As the number of displaced people increased and the population was left with limited access to emergency and trauma care, as well as access to essential health services, including routine vaccination and essential child and maternal health services, Lebanon was facing a situation where there was a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine preventable diseases, Clarke said.

Death toll in Lebanon from Israeli attacks rises to 2,119