China is seeing a continued travel rush on Sunday as the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday starting on October 1 is already halfway through, with millions hitting the roads, rails and skies amid impacts of a powerful typhoon.
Typhoon Matmo, the 21st typhoon of the year that intensified into a severe typhoon early Sunday morning, has hit southern China, forcing authorities to adjust transportation schedules and routes to meet the high travel demand, particularly ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The festival, which will fall on Monday (Oct 6) this year, is one of the most important holidays and celebrations in Chinese culture, symbolizing family reunion, wholeness and gratitude for the harvest.
For the national railway network, it is expected to handle a total of 17.55 million passenger trips on Sunday, with an additional 927 train trips scheduled to accommodate the surging travel demand.
Affected by Typhoon Matmo, several railway bureaus in southern China has planned to suspend some train services while adjusting train routes within affected areas to guard against risks.
In terms of highways, the Ministry of Transport has expected the second holiday travel peak on Sunday, with the traffic volume estimated to exceed 62 million vehicles.
The country's waterway system is expected to handle 1.7 million passenger trips on Sunday, an increase of 7.68 percent year on year.
China's civil aviation system is projected to handle 2.35 million passenger trips nationwide on Sunday, up 0.6 percent year on year. A total of 18,066 flights are expected to be operated, with an expected on-time rate of around 90 percent.
The civil aviation authorities warned that Typhoon Matmo is bringing strong winds and heavy rain to southern China, leading to disruptions at airports in Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi.
Travel rush continues amid typhoon impacts ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival
