Travel across China rose 8.2% compared to a year earlier during the extended Lunar New Year holiday, reports Caixin. Total cross-regional trips rose to nearly 2.8 billion as the holiday period was extended from eight to nine days.
Highways remained the dominant mode of transportation, accounting for 86% of total travel. Supported by the rapid uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), expanded charging infrastructure and toll-free highway policies, daily self-driving trips averaged about 270 million, up 8.3% year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Transport. The number of new-energy vehicles on highways jumped 34% to 11.52 million per day. Service areas logged an average of more than 910,000 charging sessions daily. The car-rental market also posted strong growth, with major platforms reporting an 80% increase in orders and an average rental period of more than six days.
Public transportation also recorded solid gains. China State Railway Group said passenger trips reached a record 121 million during the holiday, up 11.5% from a year earlier. Return travel peaked on February 23, the final day of the break, when railways handled a single-day record of 18.73 million passengers. To cope with heavy demand from tourists, migrant workers and family visitors, the operator added thousands of temporary trains, including more than 1,000 overnight high-speed services on major trunk routes.