China’s ‘Golden Week’ Poised to Surpass Pre-Pandemic Travel Records with Over 1.9 Billion Journeys Expected

China is anticipated to surpass travel numbers from before the pandemic during the upcoming 'golden week' holiday. The week-long National Day holiday could witness over 1.9 billion trips, with the majority undertaken by car.

The "golden week" usually marks one of the busiest times for travel in the nation, and this year, transport vice-minister Li Yang anticipates nearly 1.94 billion trips will be made during the holiday, beginning on Tuesday.

Daily travel is projected to average 277 million trips, marking a 0.7 percent rise from the previous year and a nearly 20 percent uptick since 2019.

Li stated, "Over 80 percent of the journeys, approximately 1.526 billion, will be undertaken by individuals driving their own vehicles, while the other 20 percent will involve public transportation, such as trains, buses, airplanes, and boats."

China Railway anticipates that approximately 175 million travelers will utilize the train services from Sunday to the following Tuesday. The peak of this travel surge is projected to occur on Tuesday, with over 21 million trips expected on that day alone.