China saw the average daily travel volume during the Spring Festival holiday increase by 3.5 percent year on year, according to Wu Tong Big Data of China Mobile.
Most people chose to travel from Feb. 19 to 21, or the third to fifth day of the Year of the Horse, after greeting the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, with their family on Feb. 17, according to the data.
Over 50 percent of the Chinese holiday-makers traveled within one provincial-level region, and the daily number of Chinese tourists touring two provincial-level regions or more increased by 6.8 percent on average compared with the Spring Festival holiday in 2025, the data showed.
The average daily growth in the time of staying in cities with strong festive atmosphere and rich folk activities was 21.6 percent from the Spring Festival holiday last year, indicating that the holiday-makers spent more time on in-depth experience of local customs.
Tourists from more than 160 countries and regions visited more than 300 cities in China during the Spring Festival holiday this year, and the average daily increases in the numbers of tourists from Sweden, Italy, Malaysia and France exceeded 30 percent, the data showed.
"The number of overseas tourists rose by 10.1 percent daily on average compared with the same period last year, with that of overseas tourists visiting second-tier cities and lower up 12 percent daily on average. These tourists' destinations gradually extended from first-tier cities to small and medium-sized cities with their own characteristics," said Zhang Weifang, deputy general manager of the big data smart application center of China Mobile.
China sees average daily travel volume up 3.5 pct during Spring Festival holiday
As the Spring Festival holiday drew to a close, transport hubs across China have stepped up capacity and services to cope with surging return traffic.
At Taiyuan Wusu International Airport in north China's Shanxi Province, 336 flights were scheduled on Monday, the final day of the holiday, with passenger throughput expected to reach 51,000.
"On the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, Taiyuan airport plans to operate 336 flights. Peak traffic is concentrated on routes linking Taiyuan with major hubs such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu," said Kong Rong, a staff member at the Taiyuan airport.
The airport optimized flight capacity based on passenger flow patterns and introduced tailored services, including priority assistance for first-time and urgent travelers, as well as coordinated support for late-arriving passengers to ensure smooth connections.
In south China's Guangdong Province, China Railway Guangzhou Group also saw a peak in return passenger flow. On Monday, it handled 2.577 million passenger trips, up 14.5 percent year on year.
To manage demand, the railway operator ran 3,979 trains, including 747 additional services.
Highways also experienced heavy traffic on Monday.
In Tianjin, expressways recorded peak vehicle flow. At the Wuqing West toll station on the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, traffic was dense but moving steadily without major congestion. Authorities issued real-time traffic updates to help drivers avoid bottlenecks.
In Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, highways around the city saw increased traffic from Sunday. Police intensified video monitoring and patrols to quickly handle incidents and ease pressure on main routes.
In Jiangsu Province, several cross-river bridges experienced return traffic peaks. For the past week, the Jiangyin Yangtze River Highway Bridge recorded an average daily traffic volume of 125,000 vehicles.
China's transport network steps up services as return travel peaks
