Travel enthusiasm remained high across China on Thursday, the second day of the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with transportation networks continuing to manage elevated passenger flows.
China's national railway system experienced a historic peak on Wednesday, handling a record-breaking 23.13 million passenger trips in a single day. For Thursday, the railway network expects to see 19.3 million passenger trips with an additional 1,409 trains arranged to accommodate the demand.
Newly opened high-speed rail lines, such as the Xiangyang-Jingmen and Shenyang-Baishan routes, started serving passengers during a major holiday for the first time.
Railway authorities across the country have implemented measures to cope with the peak passengers flows, including optimizing services and strengthening emergency response protocols.
"During this year's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, there has been a significant increase in passengers needing assistance compared with other days. We provide them with thorough services that covers the entire process, from entering the station and waiting, to ticket checks and boarding, all the way to arriving at and exiting the station," said Han Wenwen, leader of the service team at the Beijing South Railway Station.
On the roads, the total traffic volume on national expressways was expected to reach 61.2 million vehicles on Thursday. Traffic was concentrated on highways leading in and out of key urban clusters like the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing area, as well as on national and provincial roads near popular tourist attractions.
Transportation departments in provinces like Hebei and Shandong have deployed intelligent inspection systems for comprehensive monitoring and enhanced information sharing with major train stations and tourist sites to ensure safe and convenient holiday travel.
Waterway transportation has also been busy, with an estimated 1.68 million passenger trips expected nationwide on Thursday, a 20.52 percent increase compared with the same day last year.
In terms of civil aviation, an estimated 2.45 million air passenger trips were expected on Thursday, with 19,390 flights scheduled to operate across the country.
China's transportation networks continue to see surging traveler trips on 2nd day of National Day holiday
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, said on Monday that the relationship between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) stands at a new historical starting point.
Xi arrived in the DPRK capital of Pyongyang earlier on Monday to begin a two-day state visit at the invitation of Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, marking his first trip to the country in seven years.
Delivering a speech at a welcome banquet hosted by Kim, Xi pointed out that China and the DPRK, linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common future, have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger over time through the test of the evolving international landscape.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, and the China-DPRK relationship stands at a new historical starting point, Xi said, noting that he has reached important consensus with Kim during his visit.
From the strategic perspective of the future and destiny of socialism, both leaders have agreed to seize the general trend of the times, respond to the shared aspirations of the two peoples, strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen strategic communication, expand practical cooperation, enhance people-to-people bonds, promote the high-level development of China-DPRK relations, jointly open up brighter prospects for the socialist cause of both countries, and contribute to the continuous progress of human society, Xi said.
The successful convening of the Ninth Congress of the WPK this year has made strategic plans and major arrangements for the long-term development of the Party and the country's cause, ushering in a new period of comprehensive development of the DPRK's socialist cause, Xi said.
As good neighbors, good friends and good comrades, the Chinese side sincerely wishes that, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the WPK headed by General Secretary Kim, the DPRK people will successfully accomplish the goals and tasks set by the Ninth Congress of the WPK and make constant new achievements in the socialist cause of the DPRK, Xi said.
On behalf of the WPK, the government and the people of the DPRK, Kim extended the warmest welcome to Xi on his visit. Kim said that Pyongyang was filled with an atmosphere of friendship on this special day as the DPRK's Party, government and people warmly welcomed their most distinguished guest.
Noting that Xi's first overseas trip of the year had brought him to the DPRK, Kim said this fully demonstrated the great importance Xi attached to developing relations between the two parties and the two countries, and constituted the most valuable support for the DPRK's socialist cause.
Noting the meeting with Xi came nine months after their previous meeting, Kim said that during this meeting, they reached important consensus on further advancing DPRK-China relations with new contemporary connotations in light of new changing circumstances, and exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, which will surely accelerate the development of the DPRK-China friendship with profound historical traditions, and contribute to peace and stability in the region and the world.
The DPRK people take heartfelt joy in the remarkable achievements made by the brotherly Chinese people, Kim said, expressing belief that under the leadership of the CPC with Xi at its core, the great Chinese people will surely create greater achievements in building a great modern socialist country in all respects, realizing the Second Centenary Goal, and completing the new journey toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Xi says China-DPRK ties stand at new historical starting point
