China’s Ministry of Transport has released data indicating a robust travel volume across the nation on October 5th, the fifth day of the National Day holiday. The total cross-regional personnel flow reached 303.337 million person-times. This figure represents a 1.7% increase compared to the same day in the previous year (October 6, 2025), though it saw a slight decrease of 0.7% compared to the previous day.
Detailed Transportation Sector Performance
The latest figures highlight varied performances across different transport sectors:
- Railways: Passenger volume on railways surged by 28.5% year-on-year, reaching 21.047 million person-times. This also marked a 3.6% increase from the previous day.
- Highways: Overall highway personnel flow was 278.31 million person-times, showing a marginal year-on-year growth of 0.1%. This segment experienced a 0.9% decrease from the prior day.
- Commercial Highway Passenger Transport: This specific category within highway transport saw a 3.7% year-on-year increase, with 39.81 million person-times. It also grew by 4.2% compared to the previous day.
- Non-commercial Small Passenger Vehicles on Highways: Travel via private cars on expressways and national/provincial roads accounted for 238.5 million person-times. This indicates a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.5% and a 1.7% dip from the previous day.
- Water Transport: Waterway passenger volume experienced a significant year-on-year jump of 18.7%, reaching 1.53 million person-times. However, this was accompanied by a notable daily decrease of 16.3%.
- Civil Aviation: Air travel continued its upward trend, with passenger volume increasing by 1.7% year-on-year to 2.45 million person-times. Daily figures also showed a healthy 5.5% increase.
Holiday Travel Trends
The data reflects the typical patterns of holiday travel in China, with significant movements occurring during the extended National Day break. The increase in overall travel volume compared to the previous year suggests a continuing recovery and growth in domestic tourism and personal mobility. While rail and air transport showed strong year-on-year gains, indicating their increasing importance for long-distance travel, road transport, especially private vehicle use, experienced more mixed results with slight daily and annual declines in non-commercial travel.
The Ministry of Transport’s consistent reporting provides valuable insights into the nation’s transportation network dynamics, especially during peak holiday periods. These statistics are crucial for understanding economic activity, infrastructure utilization, and public mobility trends.
As the holiday period nears its end, attention is also turning towards the return journey. Reports have highlighted potential congestion at service areas, particularly for electric vehicle charging, indicating the need for continued planning and infrastructure support to manage peak travel demands.
