China recorded over 1.4 billion inter-regional passenger trips during the first week of the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, according to the Ministry of Transport. Road travel accounted for 1.3 billion trips, railways 86 million, civil aviation 16 million, and waterways 4.9 million.
On the seventh day of the travel rush alone, 227.71 million inter-regional trips were made, up 2.3 percent from the same period last year. The official holiday begins on Feb. 17 and lasts nine days, attracting massive travel across the country.
The annual “chunyun” travel period, which runs from Feb. 2 to March 13 this year, is considered the world’s largest human migration, with an estimated 9.5 billion trips expected during the 40-day period, reflecting China’s cultural significance and population mobility during the New Year.
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