Passengers walk along a platform at a railway station in Nanchang, East China’s Jiangxi Province, on April 4, 2026. Photo: VCG

　　On the first day of the Qingming Festival holiday, a sharp rise in tourist flows highlighted strong demand for cultural and tourism consumption, with total cross-regional trips estimated at about 296 million on Saturday, up 2.7 percent year-on-year, according to state broadcaster CCTV News, citing data from the Ministry of Transport.

　　Passenger traffic remained strong across the country’s major transport networks, pointing to solid mobility demand and a brisk start to the holiday travel period, a Chinese expert said.

　　In the breakdown, railway passenger volume is expected to reach 21.9 million trips; highway passenger traffic volume to be about 270.74 million person-times; waterway passenger volume is estimated to reach 1.353 million person-times, up 11.7 percent year-on-year, and civil aviation passenger volume is likely to reach 1.92 million, the data showed.

　　Additionally, China State Railway Group Co, the nation’s passenger train operator, said in a statement to the Global Times on Saturday that the national railway network is expected to handle 21.9 million passenger trips, with 1,173 additional passenger trains scheduled.

　　As of 8 a.m. on Saturday, China’s railway ticketing platform 12306 had cumulatively sold 61.25 million train tickets for the Qingming Festival holiday, according to the statement.

　　Transport authorities attributed the notable rise in cross-regional trips to the overlap this year between the Qingming Festival holiday and students’ spring break.

　　During the holiday, the average daily traffic volume on national highways will reach approximately 61 million vehicles, with an increase of about 3 percent year-on-year.