China's traffic flow remains steady on Day 2 of Dragon Boat Festival holiday

China's transportation networks have been operating smoothly on the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, which runs from Friday to Sunday, with the vehicle volume expected to reach 39.8 million nationwide on highways, the lowest level during the three-day break.

Overall, road conditions remained stable on Saturday. Traffic flow on major highways connecting key urban clusters, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, has been relatively concentrated, but no large-scale congestion has been reported.

However, rain continued to pose challenges for road travel. At 06:00, the National Meteorological Center renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms, while the Ministry of Transport maintained a Level III emergency response for heavy rain.

As of 12:00, three road sections in Guangxi and Yunnan had been temporarily closed due to rain, with traffic control measures adjusted as conditions change.

Waterway travel also picked up during the holiday. Nationwide, passenger trips by water are expected to reach 1.1 million on Saturday, up 7.6 percent year on year. Passenger flow along the Yangtze River trunk line, the world's busiest inland waterway, and the Putuoshan route is projected to increase by more than 10 percent, respectively.

On Saturday, national railways are expected to carry 12.24 million passengers, with 598 additional passenger trains scheduled across the country.

Major railway bureaus are seeing significant volumes. Beijing is expected to handle 1.02 million passengers, adding 73 extra trains. The city of Jinan in east China's Shandong Province will carry an estimated 640,000 passengers with 76 additional trains added, while Shanghai expects 2.49 million passengers and plans to operate 93 extra trains.

China's traffic flow remains steady on Day 2 of Dragon Boat Festival holiday

Iran's Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Monday that the first round of high-level talks between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland had significantly advanced efforts to release frozen Iranian assets, while the U.S. side suggested the funds could be channeled toward American farm exports.

Hemmati told the country's semi-official Tasnim News Agency that "significant progress" had been made on the asset releases, with the relevant documents signed during the negotiations.

Referring to the unfreezing of the central bank's overseas assets as one of the most complex items on the agenda, the central bank chief said the funds will be phased into use in the coming days, in accordance with conditions and procedures established by the bank.

Regarding the export of oil and petroleum products, Hemmati said the two parties have agreed that the Office of Foreign Assets Control under the U.S. Treasury Department will be responsible for sanctions waivers for Iranian oil and petrochemical shipments.

After the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at Switzerland's Burgenstock resort, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday that if the U.S. agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets, the funds could be used to purchase American soybeans, corn and wheat.

Iran reports significant progress on asset unfreezing as US eyes agricultural exports