China to see record 9.4b trips in 2026 Spring Festival travel rush

China recorded a new high in cross-regional passenger trips during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, which ended Friday, with total mobility expected to reach 9.4 billion over the 40-day period, the Ministry of Transport said.

The annual travel season, known as chunyun, began Feb 2 and concluded Friday. During the period, cross-regional passenger flows averaged 235 million a day, up 4.3 percent from the same period in 2025.

Railways handled a cumulative 538 million passenger trips, or 13.44 million a day on average, marking a 4.8 percent increase year-on-year.

Road travel remained the dominant mode of transport, with cumulative passenger flows reaching 8.736 billion, averaging 218 million a day, up 4.2 percent from last year.

Waterway passenger traffic reached 35.95 million trips during the period, or 900,000 a day on average, representing the fastest growth among major transport modes at 15.2 percent year-on-year.

Civil aviation handled 94.39 million passenger trips, averaging 2.36 million a day, up 4.6 percent from the same period last year.

The peak day for cross-regional travel occurred Feb 22, when 380 million trips were recorded, setting a single-day record.

The figures underscore continued strong travel demand and the sustained vitality of the world's largest annual human migration.