Around 1.15 billion passenger trips are expected to be carried out in Guangdong province during this year’s Lunar New Year travel rush, which will run for 40 days between 2 February and 13 March.
When compared to the same period in 2025, this figure marks an increase of 4.24 percent, according to Guangdong Department of Transport data cited by Chinese state media. The forecast total for Guangdong is equivalent to around 12.2 percent of the total passenger movements predicted nationwide.
By transport category, 1.08 billion trips are expected to be made on the road, up by 4.05 percent year-on-year. Rail travel is in a distant second place, with an estimated 54.43 million trips, up 7.5 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, 11.45 million trips are forecast to be made by air, an increase of 6.75 percent over the previous year. As for trips by boat, their total is projected to hit 5.8 million, growing 6.17 percent year-on-year.
In response to the increased passenger trips during the Lunar New Year travel rush, the Guangdong transport authority is boosting the operational capacity of the province’s railway network from last year’s 87.3 percent to the current 89.4 percent.
Similarly, the total number of planned arrivals and departures in Guangdong’s aviation sector is projected to hit 145,100 during the break, a boost of 3.7 percent year-on-year.
Nationwide, the number of passenger trips during the Chinese New Year travel rush is anticipated to hit a record-breaking total of 9.5 billion.
[See more: Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year night parade returns with new displays]
At a press conference reported by Chinese national media yesterday, the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) deputy head, Li Chunlin, noted that vehicular trips would remain the preferred means of transport during the holiday, making up approximately 80 percent of the passenger movement.
Some 540 million trips are expected to be conducted by rail, while 95 million would be facilitated by plane. Li noted that the number of daily trips carried out via these two transport modes was forecast to reach new heights.
Chinese authorities have boosted the nation’s transport capacity to cope with the increased demand for travel during the break. The number of passenger trains running across the country during peak periods is forecast to exceed 14,000, a jump of 5.3 percent over the same period last year.
“This year, 22 new lines totalling over 3,100 kilometres and more than 50 stations will participate in the travel rush for the first time,” Zhu Wenzhong of the China State Railway Group said at the press conference. “We are also running nearly 1,000 high-speed trains at night on major corridors to ease congestion.”
As well, China’s aviation sector is looking to operate a daily average of 19,400 flights during the travel rush, up by 5 percent year-on-year.
Considered to be the largest annual migration of people on Earth, the Lunar New Year travel rush sees hundreds of millions of Chinese crossing the country for family reunions and holidays. This year is expected to be particularly busy, as the holiday period has been extended to an unprecedented 9 days.
