China's Railways See Peak Return Travel During Spring Festival Holiday

According to Xinhua News Agency, the reporter learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. that February 23, 2026, the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, marks the peak of the return travel rush on the national railway network. It is estimated that 18.5 million passenger trips will be made, and 2,297 additional passenger trains are planned to be operated.

As of 8:00 a.m. on February 23, the railway ticketing platform 12306 (including its website and app) has cumulatively sold 339 million tickets for the Spring Festival travel period. Based on advance ticket sales data, the main departure cities with high demand on February 23 are Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanchang. The main popular destination cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Chongqing, and Zhengzhou. Passenger flow is relatively concentrated on popular routes such as Nanning-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai, Wuhan-Shanghai, Shenyang-Beijing, Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Wuhan-Shenzhen, Xi'an-Chengdu, Nanchang-Shanghai, Wuhan-Guangzhou, and Taiyuan-Beijing.