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China: 64M rail travelers expected during holidays

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-20 16:14

BEIJING: Ministry of Railways said Sunday that it is expecting about 64 million people to travel by train during the 8-day National Day holidays.

Related readings:  Beijing parks join in holiday festivities  Survey shows hotel prices have sunk  National museum lights up ahead of anniversary  Tourism income during National Day holiday to grow 25%

Chinese will enjoy eight days off, from October 1 to October 8, for the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival, the latter a traditional occasion dedicated to family reunion.

The estimated number of travelers would be an increase of 9.3 percent over the same period last year, said Wang Yongping, the ministry spokesperson.

Wang said October 1 would embrace a peak of 6.9 million passengers, who are either visiting families and friends or touring around the country.

The ministry would arrange 39 pairs of additional trains every day to major cities and hot tourist destinations such as cities of Zhangjiajie, Guilin, Shenzhen and Kunming, two pairs more than the same period last year, according to Wang.