China's May Day holiday opens with record travel numbers

China's transport services reported surging passenger numbers on Thursday, the first day of the May Day holiday, reflecting strong tourism demand and economic vitality.

The total number of inter-regional passenger trips reached 332.7 million on Thursday, up 6.2 percent year on year, data from the Ministry of Transport showed on Friday.

Road travel accounted for the lion's share of these journeys, with passenger trips rising 4.7 percent year on year to 305.61 million.

Passenger trips by water surged 87.5 percent compared to the same day last year, while air travel saw an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase.

The country's railway network handled a record 23.12 million passenger trips, marking an 11.7 percent rise year on year, according to data released by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

To accommodate the surge in traffic, 13,800 passenger trains operated on May 1, the railway operator said. 

Earlier it said railway passenger trips are expected to reach a total of 144 million from April 29 to May 6. 

Data from China's official railway booking platform, 12306, show that popular holiday destinations include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Nanjing and Zhengzhou.

Compared with the short-distance travel typical of the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, May Day travelers are going farther and exploring a wider range of destinations. On Thursday, tourist destinations spanned 1,229 counties nationwide, with related bookings up 20 percent year on year, according to online travel agency Qunar.com.