Nation bracing for 14 billion cross-province trips during Spring Festival

China is preparing for an extraordinary 1.4 billion cross-provincial trips during the upcoming Spring Festival, underscoring the cultural importance of travel in the nation. This substantial number signifies a period of peak travel activity as families and friends reunite during this traditional holiday.

Official data released on Sunday projects an impressive daily average of 201.89 million cross-provincial trips, reflecting a 2 percent increase compared to the previous year, as reported by the People's Daily in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport.

The annual migration of people in China commenced on February 2, occurring 15 days prior to the Spring Festival, known as the Lunar New Year. This year's travel rush is expected to encapsulate a total of 9.5 billion journeys over the designated 40-day period ending March 13, marking a historical high.

Within these travel trends, road travel remains the predominant method of transportation, making up approximately 80 percent of all journeys. Rail travel, on the other hand, is anticipated to facilitate around 540 million passengers, while civil aviation is projected to cater to about 95 million airline travelers.

According to Li Chunlin from the National Development and Reform Commission, both the overall travel volume and peak daily traffic for rail and air are anticipated to hit new records this year.

Focusing specifically on the first week of the travel season, railway passenger traffic is expected to reach 86.02 million, yielding a daily average of 12.29 million—an increase of 0.2 percent year-on-year. Additionally, waterway passenger traffic is projected to achieve 4.89 million, with a daily average of 699,000, showing a year-on-year rise of 14.7 percent.

Civil aviation passenger traffic forecasts a total of 16.32 million in the first week, averaging 2.33 million per day, which also reflects a significant increase of 6.1 percent compared to the previous year.

In response to the surging demand, airlines like Air China are ramping up their preparations for the travel surge. The airline has announced plans to operate more than 70,000 flights during the Spring Festival travel season, marking a 10.1 percent increase from the prior year.

Furthermore, capacity deployment in Northeast China has risen by 15 percent compared to last year's Spring Festival. All flights on popular routes such as those heading to Sanya will utilize wide-body aircraft, and nine domestically produced C919 aircraft are set to operate relevant flights linking Beijing to key cities including Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Xi'an.

Beijing Capital International Airport is also gearing up for the influx, expecting to accommodate approximately 7.89 million travelers, averaging 197,000 daily. Flight operations during this season are projected to increase by about 1.3 percent relative to 2025, while passenger traffic is forecasted to rise by about 1.5 percent year-on-year.

The first week has also seen a slight uptick in self-driven travelers, with road traffic anticipated to surge by 2.1 percent compared to the previous year. Ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing reported a significant 23 percent increase in demand for rides across cities since the Spring Festival travel period commenced.

Moreover, car rentals are quickly gaining traction as a preferred mode of travel, with expectancies of double-digit year-on-year growth across the nation during the Spring Festival holiday. According to CAR Inc., bookings for cross-city travel have surged by over 70 percent since the travel rush, alongside a sixfold increase in bookings for new energy vehicles.