China records surge in holiday travel during the eight-day break

Passengers are pictured at the waiting hall of Tianjin West Railway Station in Tianjin, Oct 7, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

China saw a surge in people travelling during the just-concluded National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period, with a total of 2.43 billion cross-regional passenger trips made across the country, according to the Ministry of Transport on Thursday.

The eight-day holiday, which ran from Oct 1 to Wednesday, saw an average of 304 million daily trips, up 6.3 percent compared with the National Day holiday period in 2024.

Among the various modes of transport, railways handled 153.96 million passenger trips, averaging 19.24 million per day, a 2.6 percent increase year-on-year, the ministry said.

Road travel remained the dominant form of transport, accounting for the vast majority of movement. About 2.25 billion trips were made by road, averaging 281 million daily, up 6.6 percent year-on-year.

Waterway travel also saw steady growth, with 11.66 million passenger trips recorded, a 4.1 percent increase from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, civil aviation handled 19.14 million passengers during the holiday, averaging 2.39 million trips per day, up 3.3 percent year-on-year.

Transport authorities said travel during the holiday period remained safe and orderly overall, reflecting the vitality of the domestic tourism market and the public's growing enthusiasm for leisure and family travel.