China is expected to record more than 243 million cross-regional passenger trips on Friday, the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, up 6.4 percent from the previous day, with notable increases in road, rail, civil aviation and waterway traffic, according to official data.
Railways were expected to carry 22.34 million passengers on the first day of the holiday, with 1,218 additional trains scheduled for popular routes. Nighttime high-speed rail services continued on popular routes such as Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou and Beijing-Harbin. Some stations adjusted operating hours to ensure comfortable waiting and smooth transfers.
Road travel was dominated by short-distance self-driving trips. The Ministry of Transport used an intelligent road network analysis system, combined with historical data, to identify sections prone to congestion and implement targeted measures to avoid large-scale traffic jams.
In north China's Hebei Province, traffic volume on the Zhuozhou section of Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway rose significantly, with more than 360 vehicles passing through a five-minute section. The command center relied on a smart traffic control platform for 24-hour dynamic monitoring to ensure smooth traffic flow.
"We have upgraded 220 high-definition surveillance cameras in our jurisdiction, achieving full video coverage on the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao and Capital Ring expressways, greatly improving the efficiency of handling traffic incidents," said Liu Ming, head of the Zhuozhou brigade of the Hebei Expressway Traffic Police.
Waterways were projected to handle 750,000 passengers on the first day, up 15.4 percent from the previous day. Civil aviation was expected to transport 2.06 million passengers, with busy routes among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Chengdu-Chongqing city clusters.
China expects over 243 million cross-regional trips on 1st day of Mid-Autumn holiday
Huaqiangbei, the well-known electronics hub in south China's Shenzhen City, has turned its public spaces into immersive tech playgrounds, giving tech-savvy visitors a close-up look at the newest innovations.
The subdistrict is home to an extraordinary variety of electronics commerce. With over 115,000 registered businesses operating in Huaqiangbei, buyers can source more than a million kinds of parts and finished products.
The area also showcases the possibilities of emerging technologies for the public. On the Huaqiangbei pedestrian street, a robot band recently performed a stunning musical set, drawing many spectators.
"I really like it a lot and they have like several kinds of robots. I wonder how they will be in a year," said a visitor from Colombia who stopped to watch the robot band perform.
The performance stage was set up by Huaqiangbei as a platform to demonstrate interesting digital, electronic and AI products and applications. Seven such stages and exhibition spaces are spread along the 930-meter pedestrian street.
"We have opened up public spaces in our district free of charge to cutting-edge companies working in areas such as AI hardware, brain-computer interfaces and customized AI solutions to showcase their products. Huaqiangbei commercial area attracts more than 850,000 visitors a day on average, which provides an excellent platform for companies to present their latest technologies, products and business models to global buyers and visitors," said Xu Jiyue, a local official.
"All the products we are showcasing in our pavilion are AI-related smart devices, and they are all released within the past six months," said Zhang Jibin, head of the Huaqiangbei Global AI Application Scenario Center.
Long known for bulk electronic components and low-cost gadgets, Huaqiangbei's merchandise mix has now shifted toward a growing range of smart consumer goods.
"We have noticed a gradual shift in what customers are looking for. They are no longer just coming in for a screen protector or a new phone battery. Instead, they come seeking cutting-edge, innovative products that truly represent Shenzhen," said Lv Lichao, head of the Huaqiangbei global brain-computer interface industrial application demonstration center.
Shenzhen's electronics hub demonstrate latest technologies to tech-savvy visitors
