Holiday travelers breaking records

Like many scenic spots around the nation, Beijing's Summer Palace is packed on Monday.[Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

Chinese railways set a record in daily passenger traffic as more than 15 million trips were made on National Day on Sunday, the first day of an eight-day holiday, and over 113 million visitors flooded domestic resorts, the rail and tourist authorities said on Monday.

It is the year's longest public holiday as Mid-Autumn Festival happens to coincide with the National Day holiday this year.

Sunday's estimate of 15 million trips was up 4.2 percent from the 14.4 million trips made on National Day last year, according to rail system administrator China Railway Corp.

It said 12 million rail trips were expected on Monday, and 130 million rail trips forecast for the entire holiday travel season.

In addition, 560 million road trips and 15.9 million trips by water are expected, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Over 13 million trips are expected by air, an increase of 14 percent, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The number of daily flights was pegged at nearly 14,800.

Beijing Capital International Airport, China's busiest, expects to see 3.95 million trips during the rush, the airport said.

On Sunday, cars were trapped in kilometers-long traffic jams on expressways and passengers stood in long lines at stations and airports. Large groups of tourists crowded into resorts.