Published: 17:26, May 6, 2026
Cross-regional trips hit record 1.52b during May Day holiday
By Luo Wangshu
Passengers are seen at a platform of Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, May 1, 2026. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China recorded about 1.52 billion cross-regional passenger trips during the five-day May Day holiday, which ended on Tuesday, marking a historic high for the period, according to the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday.

From Friday to Tuesday, the number of trips taken reached 1.517 billion, up 3.49 percent year-on-year, with daily traffic averaging about 303 million journeys.

Road transport dominated holiday mobility, accounting for 1.39 billion trips, a 3.51 percent increase from a year earlier, while railways handled 106.38 million passengers, up 4.6 percent year-on-year, reflecting strong demand on major corridors.

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By contrast, waterway transport recorded 8.49 million trips, down 1.37 percent, and civil aviation carried 10.54 million passengers, a decline of 5.74 percent.

On the final day of the holiday, cross-regional trips totaled 282 million, down 5.8 percent from the previous day but up 5 percent year-on-year, indicating a steady return flow.