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  • Category: Travel

China recorded 2.142 billion cross-regional passenger trips during the 2026 National Day holiday from October 1 to 7, averaging 306 million trips per day, according to data released by the Ministry of Transport on October 8, 2026. This represents a 0.6% year-on-year increase compared to the daily average of the 2025 National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival combined holiday.

Breakdown by Transport Mode

Railways recorded the strongest growth among all modes. A total of 151.87 million passenger trips were made by rail during the seven-day period, averaging 21.7 million trips per day—a year-on-year increase of 12.7%. The opening day of the holiday set a new all-time record, with 25.204 million passengers traveling by rail on October 1 alone, the highest single-day figure in China's railway history.

Roads remained the dominant mode of travel, accounting for the vast majority of trips. A total of 1.96182 billion passenger trips were made by road, averaging 280.26 million trips per day, a slight decrease of 0.3% year-on-year. Within this, self-driving travel accounted for nearly 80% of road trips, and the volume of new energy vehicles on highways increased by 35% year-on-year. Notably, the number of highway sections experiencing severe congestion of over 10 kilometers dropped by 70% compared to the previous year.

Civil aviation handled 16.92 million passenger trips, averaging 2.42 million trips per day, roughly flat compared to the previous year. Airlines operated a total of 134,000 flights, averaging 19,149 flights per day, up 0.8% from the 2025 holiday period.

Waterways carried 10.93 million passengers, averaging 1.56 million trips per day, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%.

Key Travel Trends

The 2026 National Day holiday saw several notable trends. Newly opened high-speed rail lines became popular travel choices, with the Harbin–Yichun High-Speed Railway and the Yixing High-Speed Railway attracting significant passenger volume. Passengers along these routes could enjoy discounts on food, accommodation, shopping, and entertainment by presenting their train tickets.

The surge in self-driving travel, particularly with new energy vehicles, reflects the growing adoption of electric vehicles and the expansion of charging infrastructure across China's highway network. The sharp reduction in severe highway congestion also suggests improvements in traffic management and the effectiveness of real-time navigation and diversion systems.

Data Note

The official figures cited in this report are drawn from search result summaries of announcements by the Ministry of Transport and state media. Some source pages could not be directly accessed at the time of writing. For the most current and detailed data, readers are advised to consult the Ministry of Transport's official website or authoritative state media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.