Transport Ministry data released on 26 September show that cross-regional passenger movements – covering road, rail, air and waterways – exceeded 243 million on the first day of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, up 6.4 % on the previous day. Rail accounted for 22.34 million trips, with 1,218 additional trains – many night-time high-speed services – laid on to meet demand. Although the majority of journeys were domestic, border-inspection stations at key airports reported a 14 % rise in outbound departures to Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia, driven by visa-free entry and cheaper airfares. Beijing’s Capital and Daxing airports handled a combined 206,000 air passengers, while coastal ferry terminals saw water-borne travel jump 15.4 %. To mitigate congestion, the Ministry deployed its “road-network AI” platform to predict bottlenecks and adjust toll-gate staffing in real time. Highway control centres reported that the busiest section, the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway near Zhuozhou, briefly hit 360 vehicles per five-minute interval before flow-control measures reduced speed variance. For global-mobility teams, the surge underscores the importance of booking early for staff flying into or out of China around local public holidays. Airlines are using dynamic pricing algorithms that raise fares by up to 40 % within 48 hours of departure during the dual Mid-Autumn/National-Day ‘super-Golden-Week’. Companies may wish to authorise premium-economy purchases in advance to lock in capacity. The National Immigration Administration expects cross-border flows to peak again on 1 and 4 October, with daily clearances projected to top 2.4 million. Travellers should allow extra time for health-declaration checks, which remain in place at selected airports despite the end of pandemic border controls.
Source: People’s Daily / Beijing.gov.cn
