China sees less Spring Festival travel amid epidemic control

Passengers wait for trains at Harbin Railway Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of passenger trips dropped by 75.2 percent year on year to 17.58 million on Friday. It was the second day of the Spring Festival travel rush amid stringent epidemic control measures, official data showed.

Passengers made 2.83 million railway trips on the day, down by 77.2 percent from one year earlier, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The country reported 13.97 million road trips and 287,000 trips through waterway transportation, which decreased by 75.1 percent and 51.1 percent year on year, respectively.

The civil aviation sector operated 492,000 passenger trips, registering a 73.2-percent yearly decline, the MOT data showed.

To reduce the flow of personnel and curb the spread of the epidemic, many places across China have encouraged residents and migrant workers to stay put for the festival.

Despite this, railway, electric power, civil aviation and other departments continue to guarantee travel services, implement epidemic prevention and control measures, and strengthen safety inspections.

At some railway stations, large-scale disinfection and cleaning work continued effectively. Robots for contact-free temperature screening have also greatly enhanced travel efficiency, according to the MOT.