China has seen a sharp surge in interregional passenger trips in the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival which ends on Tuesday, with the total number of passenger trips in the entire holiday season expected to reach a record high of more than 600 million, according to the latest official data released by the Ministry of Transport.
Mid-Autumn 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. The holiday runs from Sept 15 to 17 this year.
The data from the Ministry of Transport show that during the three-day holiday, the average daily interregional passenger flow is expected to exceed 205 million, an increase of 28.2 percent over the same period of 2023. In particular, the railway passenger volume is expected to exceed 42.99 million.
As the impact of Typhoon Bebinca weakens, passenger train services on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Railway, Hangzhou-Shenzhen High-Speed Railway and other lines have gradually resumed operation. Railway authorities in many places have launched special tourist train services with festival-related themes, promoting integrated development of "railway + cultural tourism".
Regarding highway transportation, the travel flow shows a tidal trait, mainly for short- and medium-distance self-driving. New energy vehicles account for more than half of the highway travel flow. In areas with concentrated charging demand such as scenic spots and highway service areas, transportation, electricity and other departments have enhanced efforts in services to ensure that car owners can charge their vehicles in a safe and orderly manner.
During the holiday, the civil aviation sector is expected to handle a total of 5.1116 million passenger trips nationwide, with popular routes concentrated between the four major city clusters of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China, the Yangtze River Delta in east China, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao area in south China, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region in southwest China.
As of early morning on Tuesday, the inbound and outbound passenger flow at the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport exceeded 10 million, a year-on-year increase of 19 percent, a record high in the past five years.
China sees sharp surge in interregional passenger trips during Mid-Autumn Festival holiday
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
