China's summer railway travel rush concludes with 954 million passenger trips

China's national railway service concluded its busy two-month summer travel season on Monday, after transporting 954 million passengers across the country and seeing trips by foreign nationals up nearly one-third compared to the previous year amid the popular "China Travel" trend.

The China State Railway Group said Tuesday it had operated an average of more than 11,600 passenger trains per day during the period between July 1 and Aug. 31, with additional train services having been arranged to meet the surging travel demand.

Foreign nationals made more 4.4 million rail trips during this time, which comes as China has been welcoming more international visitors with the expansion of visa-free policies in recent months.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway handled over 6.2 million cross-border passenger trips, a more than 3 percent increase from a year earlier, while the cross-border China-Laos Railway carried some 56,000 passengers during this period, representing a nearly 56-percent year-on-year rise.

Meanwhile, other international passenger routes linking China with Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) also continued to transport tourists during the 62-day summer travel period.

Strong demand for family vacations and educational travel prompted rail authorities to run almost 700 specific tourist trains, along with more than 350 customized services designed for concertgoers and sports fans. Operators said these bespoke services helped support cultural and tourism spending along their routes. Among them was the 18-carriage "Southern Train Baiyun", which began trial operations in late August on a four-day itinerary linking Guangzhou in southern Guangdong Province to key destinations in the central Hunan Province, including the popular scenic tourist spot of Zhangjiajie and the provincial capital Changsha.

Customized fan trains have also served the "Minchao", or the Fujian City Football League of east China's coastal Fujian Province, enabling supporters to make same-day trips to matches and linking sports events with local cultural and tourism consumption.

China Railway also piloted ticket-reservation services on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and the conventional Beijing-Shanghai Railway and also introduced a nationwide reservation service for incoming university students, selling over 25.3 million discounted student tickets during the two-month summer travel season.

China's summer railway travel rush concludes with 954 million passenger trips

Local merchants in Gyirong County of Xigaze City, in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, have been providing free relief supplies and essential aid to rescue teams and frontline workers following a catastrophic mudslide.

The deadly mudslide triggered by a glacial collapse on the Nepalese side struck the remote China-Nepal border region on Aug 26 morning.

Zeng Yong, owner of a building materials store in the county, kept his business open around the clock and provided complimentary lodging for rescue and restoration workers in the aftermath of the disaster.

"I didn't think about anything else at all. I just knew that building materials were definitely needed in disaster relief. We provided whatever we had and stayed open all day long," said Zeng.

On the night of the disaster, Zeng and his family and store employees rushed to assemble 16 makeshift beds and urgently purchased bedding supplies. After six to seven hours of intensive effort, they transformed the second-floor office area into a functional rest area for frontline workers.

"On the front line, I was mainly tying steel cages and had been working continuously for two days and one night. The tents at the frontline are all full," said Zhang Xuhui, a worker of China Railway Guangzhou Engineering Bureau Group Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. "Sleeping bags and raincoats are all packed in bags. The moment we receive the order, we just grab our bags and head straight there,” said Lhapa Tsering, a rescuer.

Among those staying at Zeng's store are emergency support personnel, frontline workers and freight drivers. No matter how late they return, Zeng keeps the lights on to welcome them.

"Their rescue work doesn't follow a regular schedule, and sometimes they come back very late. I always keep the light on so they can return at any time," said Zeng.

Across the streets of Gyirong County, temporary volunteer service stations have been set up, operating around the clock to provide a wide range of supplies to rescuers and local residents alike.

"When disaster strikes, help comes from all sides. I have lived here for nearly 30 years -- this place is half my hometown. As long as I can help in any way, even just a little, it is a small token of my appreciation," a local merchant.

Gyirong merchants mobilize to provide free aid to rescue teams, frontline workers