China’s transport sector is expected to handle 1.94 billion passenger trips nationwide during the week-long National Day holiday starting from Oct 1.

The peak of passenger departures is expected on Oct 1, and the returning passenger flow is expected to increase gradually from Oct 5.

On Monday, the day before the holiday, China’s railway network is expected to handle 17.5 million passenger trips and has added 1,566 additional trains.

Railway staff have been making special preparations to ensure safety during the travel rush.

“We have weaved traditional Chinese ropes of five colors, namely red, yellow, blue, green and purple, to stand for the passengers who need our help, including the old, the young, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. In this way, the railway staff can be clear about those passengers’ needs and difficulties, so as to serve them better,” said Xiao Rui, a conductor on the Mudanjiang passenger railway line in northeast China.

On the country’s highways, daily traffic is expected to reach about 61 million vehicles during the holiday. Flows are expected to grow from 16:00 on Monday and peak between 19:00 to midnight.

The civil aviation sector is expected to embrace the travel peak on Monday evening until Tuesday. Popular destinations for fliers include the cities of Chengdu in southeast China, Shanghai in east China, Guangzhou in the country’s south, and tropical Sanya on the island province of Hainan.

The two civil airports in Beijing are expected to handle more than 2.3 million passengers with more than 14,599 flights during the holiday.

The country’s water transport system is expected to handle more than 1 million passenger trips during the holiday, mainly for touring and family reunions.

China is expecting a surge in outbound trips during the upcoming week-long National Day holiday and an even greater increase of 60 percent in inbound travels thanks to the country’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy.

The National Day holiday, which starts Oct 1 and is known as ‘Golden Week’, is one of China’s biggest annual public holidays.

According to the data from Qunar, a leading Chinese online travel platform, the placed orders for flights and hotels for the holiday have covered 1,597 cities in 144 countries.

Among the destinations, most are within the five-hour flight, with Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Osaka at the top.

The Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region estimates that about 10.03 million people will enter the city by sea, land and air from Sept 28 to Oct 7, and the Hong Kong Airlines will handle 14 percent more passengers than in the same period last year.

In the meantime, the declining ticket prices due to the rapid resumption of international flights will also lead to a higher number of long outbound trips during the holiday, with African countries claiming more than half of the newly added destinations.

“Many popular long-haul tourism products for the holiday to Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been sold out over one month ahead. The sales of tickets for flights to Egypt, Türkiye, Hungary and Kenya have increased by more than three times year on year,” said Teng Hao, a senior researcher.

At present, foreign nationals from 54 countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain are eligible for the 144-hour visa-free policy at 37 entry ports across China for the purpose of short-term activities such as travel and business visits.

In addition, traditional tourism cities such as Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, Xi’an in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and Zhangjiajie in the central province of Hunan, have constantly increased international flight routes to attract more foreign tourists.

Zhangjiajie’s sources of tourists have increased from 133 countries and regions in 2019 to the current 171 countries and regions.

“We are from Thailand. Zhangjiajie is a natural world heritage site with a breathtaking scenery. Each tour group has 35 members. We came together in five groups with more than 100 people,” said a tour guide from Thailand.

“The Zhangjiajie port has been hustling since the Mid-Autumn Festival, with around 1,200 people entering the city per day. Based on the current trend, this figure is expected to rise to around 1,500, an increase of 20 percent,” said Zhuo Xing, a border inspection officer at the port.