China is expected to see about 2.36 billion passenger trips nationwide during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday starting Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport said Sunday.

Passengers enter Guangzhou South Railway Station to board train in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

"Travel demand, whether for tourism or family visits, will be robust," Li Yang, vice minister of transport, told a press conference. Li estimated daily average trips at 295 million in this holiday period, a 3.2-percent increase compared to the same period of 2024.

In particular, around 80 percent of these trips will be made by private vehicles. During peak periods, traffic volume on expressways could surpass 70 million vehicles per day -- with new energy vehicles accounting for 14 million, Li said.

Meanwhile, airlines will handle 19.2 million passenger trips during the holiday, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent and marking the highest level recorded for this period.

There will be a surge in medium- and long-distance travel, driven by a tourism boom, Li noted. While major domestic cities, including Shanghai in east China, southwest China's Chengdu and Beijing in the country's north, will see greater travel popularity than a year ago, a substantial increase in Chinese tourists is also projected for travel to international destinations such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

Moreover, freight transport levels are expected to remain stable, with the average daily volume of trucks on China's roads set to stay in the range of 5.5 to 5.8 million, largely consistent with figures from the same period last year, according to Li.

Li stated that China's transport sector is geared up for the strong demand, pledging all-out efforts to ensure safe and smooth travel.

Official data from the press conference also showed that in the first eight months of the year, the country's total passenger trips reached 45.55 billion, up 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

In the January-August period, the commercial cargo volume nationwide hit 38.06 billion tonnes, up 3.8 percent year on year, and the port cargo throughput rose 4.4 percent to 12.03 billion tonnes. Express delivery parcel volume climbed to 128.2 billion, marking a robust 17.8 percent increase. Fixed-asset investment in the transportation sector stood at 2.26 trillion yuan (about 317.63 billion U.S. dollars).