Holiday travel bounces back from last year

As the COVID-19 epidemic eases and a growing number of people receive vaccine doses, China's transport sector has seen a rebound during the three-day Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday.

The Ministry of Transport on Monday afternoon said 144.5 million passenger trips were expected to be made from Saturday to Monday, an increase of 142.4 percent over the same period last year.

The civil aviation sector is expected to handle 4.33 million passengers, a significant increase — 256.4 percent — from last year's same period, and drop of 10.7 percent over the same period in 2019.

On Saturday, the first day of the three day holiday, more than 51 million passenger trips were made , an increase of 157 percent over same period last year, and a decrease of 3.04 percent compared with 2019, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Among those trips, 14.64 million were made by railways, a new daily peak of this year's railway record. Among the rest, 34.08 million were made via roads, 1.51 million via air and 1.21 million by water.

To cater to the growing travel demand, transport regulators have arranged more and targeted services. In Beijing, more subway line services were arranged along routes to public tombs. In South China, more ferries were scheduled to cross the Qiongzhou Straits from Xuwen, Guangdong province, to Haikou, Hainan province, -- from 152 to 182 services a day, according to the ministry.

According to the China State Railway Group, the national railway operator, more trains were scheduled during the holiday. Some 10,046 trains were scheduled every day from Friday to Monday, an increase of 10.6 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

In addition, more targeted services, such as blossom-themed and panda-themed trains, are open, providing tourism information on board.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as Qing Ming festival, fell on Sunday this year. Traditionally, it is for Chinese people to commemorate the dead. It is also the first national holiday since Spring Festival, when people were encouraged to stay put as part of COVID-19 epidemic control measures.