China handles estimated 246 million passenger trips on 2nd day of Qingming Festival

China was estimated to have handled over 246 million cross-regional trips on Saturday, the second day of the three-day Qingming Festival holiday.

The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese holiday dedicated to honoring ancestors. People observe it by visiting gravesites to clean the tombstones, lay flowers, and pay their respects. The holiday also provides a short break for China's residents to engage in outdoor activities or go sightseeing. This year, the festival fell on Friday.

China's railway network ramped up operations over the weekend, with 13.55 million passenger trips expected on Saturday alone and 622 additional trains deployed to ease travel during the festival.

In response to the surge in travel demand during the holiday, railway authorities have implemented measures to ensure passengers can access or depart from train stations at any time of day. These include adding nighttime high-speed trains and enhancing connections with municipal transport systems such as buses and subways.

Around 229 million passenger trips and approximately 60 million vehicle trips are projected on China's road network, with a relatively high proportion of self-driving travel and a significant increase in the number of new energy vehicles.

In provinces such as Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, transportation and power departments have enhanced charging services to ensure smooth travel.

An estimated 1.28 million waterway passenger trips were made on Saturday alone, marking a 45.49 percent increase compared to the first day of the holiday.

Major water transport hubs, including Zhoushan City in east China's Zhejiang Province and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, have experienced peak travel. Local maritime and related authorities have worked to ensure safe and orderly transportation through smart scheduling and strict supervision.

China handles estimated 246 million passenger trips on 2nd day of Qingming Festival

China handles estimated 246 million passenger trips on 2nd day of Qingming Festival

China handles estimated 246 million passenger trips on 2nd day of Qingming Festival

China handles estimated 246 million passenger trips on 2nd day of Qingming Festival

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship