China recorded an estimated 845.38 million passenger trips during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, up 6 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Transport. Memorial services saw nearly 19.29 million visits, while tourism revenue surged in multiple provinces. The overlap with school spring breaks fueled long-distance family travel.
An estimated 845.38 million passenger trips were made across China during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday from Saturday to Monday, the Ministry of Transport reported. Road trips totaled 778.45 million, up 5.8 percent year on year; railways handled 57.68 million, up 8.2 percent; waterways 3.7 million, up 9.8 percent; and civil aviation 5.5 million, down 1.3 percent.
On Saturday, 66,300 funeral service institutions provided on-site memorial services nationwide, receiving 19.29 million visits, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. About 12.10 million visits used green, low-carbon methods, accounting for 62.73 percent. Nanjing's Yuhuatai Martyrs' Cemetery drew crowds, with schoolchildren laying flowers at the monument.
Tourism saw strong gains. Sichuan's A-level attractions recorded 5.77 million visits by 3 p.m. Sunday, up 14.51 percent, with ticket revenue of 60.74 million yuan, up 16.84 percent. Anhui had 4.08 million visits that day, up 23.3 percent; Hubei 5.9 million over two days, up 15.66 percent. Beijing parks tallied 2.17 million visits over three days.
Qunar reported over 30 percent growth in trips beyond 800 kilometers, with flight passengers aged 13-18 up 85 percent. "The spring break extended short outings into long-haul vacations," said Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar's big data institute.
Daily sales at key retail and catering firms rose 2.4 percent year on year, per the Ministry of Commerce. Chen from Foshan, Guangdong, visiting Beijing's Yuyuantan Park with her daughters, said: "My daughter's school spring break coincided perfectly with Qingming for this trip."
