China sets new travel records during 2026 spring festival

China saw unprecedented travel activity over the nine-day Spring Festival holiday, with total cross-regional passenger trips surpassing 2.8 billion, an 8.2% increase from last year, the Ministry of Transport reported. Daily trips averaged 311 million, peaking at 380 million on February 22.

Railways, highways, waterways, and civil aviation all recorded significant gains. Chinese railways alone carried 121 million passengers, up 11.5%, with 18.73 million traveling on February 23, a single-day record for the holiday period. Civil aviation handled 22.05 million passengers across 171,000 flights, up 7.7%.

Tourism also hit new highs, with 596 million domestic trips generating 803.48 billion yuan ($116 billion) in spending, reflecting a shift toward services-oriented consumption. Cross-border travel reached 17.8 million trips, up 10.1% from 2025.

Experts say the record-breaking travel demonstrates the resilience of China’s domestic economy and sets a strong tone for tourism and consumption in 2026.