China's annual Spring Festival travel rush begins

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows high-speed trains at a maintenance depot in Tianjin, north China.  (Photo by Yang Baosen/Xinhua)

China's annual Spring Festival travel rush began on Monday, with inter-regional trips expected to hit a record 9.5 billion.

Passenger volumes on railways and civil aviation are forecast at 540 million and 95 million, respectively, with both total traffic and daily peak flows expected to surpass previous records.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on Feb. 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with the travel rush running through March 13.

Passengers board a train at the Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Su Yang/Xinhua)

Passengers get off a train at the Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Yang Suping/Xinhua)

Maintenance workers inspect train carriages at a maintenance depot in Tianjin, north China, Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Yang Baosen/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows high-speed trains at a maintenance depot in Tianjin, north China. (Photo by Yang Baosen/Xinhua)