China expects to handle 9.5 billion cross-regional passenger trips nationwide during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush for 2026, which officially started on Monday.
The railway network across the country is expected to see an average of 13.48 million passenger trips per day, up 5 percent year on year. Nearly 1,000 overnight high-speed trains have been added along major corridors such as the Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Kunming routes to ease travel pressure.
At 00:40 on Monday, Beijing launched its first train for the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, carrying nearly 700 passengers to their destinations.
To assist travelers with heavy luggage, railway stations in Beijing have introduced a service called "light travel," which delivers luggage between passengers' homes and the station.
"I travel with two children and I have a lot of luggage. [With this service,] I just need to take care of my children. I only need to collect the luggage when we arrive at the destination. This works very well for us," said a passenger traveling with two kids.
On highways, the average daily traffic volume is projected to exceed 40 million vehicle trips nationwide during the holiday rush. In civil aviation, authorities expect to handle 19,080 flights on the first day of the travel rush, transporting around 2.19 million passengers.
Waterway transport is also set to see increased demand, with passenger volume during the travel rush estimated at 33 million.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on Feb 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with the travel rush running through March 13.
China expects 9.5 billion cross-regional passenger trips in Spring Festival travel rush
China expects 9.5 billion cross-regional passenger trips in Spring Festival travel rush
