China expects 120 mln railway trips around May Day

This photo taken on March 17, 2023 shows a high-speed train running past a cole flower field in Yangxian County of Hanzhong City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- About 120 million domestic trips are expected to be made by Chinese railway passengers from April 27 to May 4 around the May Day holiday, said the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. on Thursday.

The estimated figure during the period represents an increase of 20 percent from the 2019 level, the company said.

Passenger flows are expected to peak on April 29, the first day of the five-day holiday, with a record of over 19 million passenger trips, it said. The State Council, China's cabinet, has announced that this year's May Day holiday would be five days, from April 29 to May 3.

China's official railway ticket-booking website, 12306.cn, and its mobile app had sold more than 69.08 million tickets for the holiday as of 8 a.m. Thursday.

More than 10,800 trains will ride on average daily to tackle the rush of travelers around the May Day holiday, the company said.

May Day, also known as Labor Day, is observed on May 1 in China.