In China, at the start of the October «Golden Week», motorways and transport hubs were faced with a huge influx of travellers. The country’s Ministry of Transport expects around 2.13 billion inter-regional journeys in just seven days — from 1 to 7 October, whilst the average daily passenger volume is expected to be around 300 million journeys. The videos released show queues of cars stretching for several kilometres at major transport junctions.
Briefly about the main points
- «Golden Week» is currently taking place in China to mark the founding of the People’s Republic of China — from 1 to 7 October.
- Around 2.13 billion inter-regional journeys are expected over the next seven days.
- The average daily volume will be approximately 300 million journeys.
- On the first day of the holiday, around 329.5 million inter-regional journeys were recorded.
The motorways were packed with thousands of cars
The festive buzz was most noticeable on the roads. The Chinese set off en masse to visit relatives, tourist towns and resorts, resulting in huge queues of cars on certain motorways and at border crossings.
According to a forecast by the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China, more than 90% of all journeys during the seven-day holiday will be by road. On the first day of «Golden Week» alone, the total number of inter-regional journeys reached approximately 329.5 million.
This does not mean that 2.13 billion different people set off on their journeys at the same time. Chinese statistics count precisely number of journeys, so a single person who travels between regions several times is counted several times.
25 million people travelled by train in a single day
The Chinese railways also set a new record. On 1 October, the following number of people travelled by train 25.204 million passengers — This set a new single-day record for the country’s rail network. To meet demand, the authorities have introduced additional services, including high-speed and night trains. The most popular destinations remain Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Xi’an.
Why are there so many people this year?
The anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China is celebrated on 1 October, and this year’s official public holidays run until 7 October.
Shortly before that, on 25–27 September, China celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. There were only three working days between the two periods, so some Chinese people took extra leave and effectively ended up with up to 13 consecutive days off. This gave a further boost to demand for long-haul travel.
According to data from travel platforms, Chinese travellers are more likely this year to opt for long-haul itineraries and visit several cities in a single trip. Bookings for flights covering distances of over 2,000 km have risen by 76% compared with last year.
2.13 billion journeys in seven days
The Chinese Ministry of Transport forecasts that the total passenger volume during «Golden Week» will reach 2.13 billion inter-regional journeys. That’s on average about 300 million journeys every day, or approximately 1.7 times the usual level. The heaviest traffic is traditionally seen at the start and end of the holidays, when millions of people leave the major cities or return home at the same time.
That is why, by early October, images of dozens of lanes of traffic packed almost to capacity had already become an annual symbol of «Golden Week» in China.
