Travelers at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing on October 1, 2024 Photo: Li Hao/GT

China's traffic sector anticipates 21 million passenger trips on the railways and over 65 million vehicles on national highways on Tuesday as the week-long National Day holidays begin. Busy activity is also noted across the tourism markets, reflecting positive signs for the consumption market.

China's railway network is expected to handle 21 million passenger trips on Tuesday, marking a peak during the National Day holidays travel rush, according to the China State Railway Group Co Ltd. A total of 12,737 passenger trains, including 1,476 additional services, have been scheduled to meet the increased holiday demand.

The China Railway Beijing Group expects to handle 1.635 million passenger trips on Tuesday. The China Railway Guangzhou Group estimates it will manage 3.178 million passenger trips, a record high for the same period. 

Railway stations in Shanghai anticipate 655,000 passenger trips on Tuesday, while the railway systems across the Yangtze River Delta region are expected to send 3.8 million passenger trips, representing a 5.5 percent year-on-year growth.

Chinese expressways and civil aviation are also expected to experience a surge on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Transport estimates that traffic flow on national highways will exceed 65 million vehicles on Tuesday, with over 80 percent of the total travel volume attributed to self-driving trips. 

Beijing airports are expected to handle over 2.3 million passenger trips and manage more than 14,599 flights during the holiday period.

From October 1 to 7, Shanghai's two major airports are expected to handle a total of 16,000 flights, averaging 2,287 flights per day, a 7.1 percent increase year-on-year, according to their operator.  The average daily passenger throughput during the holidays is estimated at 369,000, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.4 percent.

China's travel markets see a surge on the first day of the National Day holidays as data from online travel platform Trip.com reflecting that many scenic spots had sold out tickets. 

On Tuesday, the number of domestic scenic spot ticket reservations had increased by 37 percent compared with last year, while bookings for homestays rising by 55 percent. Outbound travel through the platform also surged by nearly 40 percent year-on-year, Trip.com told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Spring Tour told the Global Times on Tuesday that bookings for travel products during the National Day holidays have already surpassed last year's figures, with a significant growth in both inbound and outbound travels.