China sees record-high inter-regional trips in Spring Festival travel rush

BEIJING -- The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, reached a record of 9.41 billion, official data showed Saturday.

The figure marked a 4.3 percent increase over the same period in 2025, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Road traffic made up the lion's share of these trips. During the period, about 8.74 billion trips were made by road, increasing 4.2 percent year-on-year.

Railway passenger volume reached 540 million, expanding 4.8 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.

The country's civil aviation sector recorded 94.39 million passenger trips during the period, up 4.6 percent year-on-year, while waterway trips surged 15.3 percent from a year ago to 35.97 million.

The travel rush, often described as the world's largest annual human migration, highlights China's massive mobility and vibrant economic activity. This year's Spring Festival travel rush started on Feb 2 and ended on March 13.