Chinese railways handled approximately 802 million passenger trips from July 1 to Aug 25 during the summer travel rush this year, according to data released by the country's railway operator on Monday.
According to China State Railway Group, trains across the country took on a 6.2 percent increase in passenger trips compared with the same period last year, with daily trips averaging 14.33 million.
This year, the travel rush is expected to last from July 1 to August 31.
The figure indicates a particularly busy summer travel rush, an annual occurrence fueled by student vacations, family visits and surging tourism, said the railway operator.
The railway department has carefully coordinated passenger and freight transportation and flood control safety, meticulously formulated a summer passenger transportation work plan, and increased transportation capacity to provide reliable guarantees for the safe and orderly travel of passengers and the smooth operation of the economy, said a person in charge.
China registers over 800 mln rail passenger trips during summer travel rush
China registers over 800 mln rail passenger trips during summer travel rush
China registers over 800 mln rail passenger trips during summer travel rush
China registers over 800 mln rail passenger trips during summer travel rush
The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opened in Beijing on Friday morning with hotspots around the world and security cooperation taking the center stage.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 600 official representatives from over 100 countries and international organizations, including nearly 300 heads of official delegations and officials from various countries. The forum is held with the theme of "Promoting Peace for a shared future".
China's Defense Minister Dong Jun attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. He first read out a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping to the forum. Then, he mentioned in his speech the current hot issues including the Ukrainian crisis and the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.
Dong said "there is no winner in a war and a conflict, and there is no way out if we just confront each other." He also stressed that promoting peace talks is the only way out, and the fundamental way out.
Two plenary sessions were held after the opening ceremony. At the first session, participants exchanged views on "security cooperation and prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region", and official representatives from Vietnam, Singapore, Pakistan, Fiji, Russia and Malaysia spoke at the meeting.
The theme of the second plenary session was "multipolarization and the direction of international order", and defense ministers or military generals from six countries including Cambodia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Iran delivered speeches.
The topics all focus on security hotspots. Participants include not only developing and developed countries, but also representatives, experts and scholars from the closely-watched countries such as the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
In interviews, many participants said that the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is committed to promoting dialog, exchanges and cooperation among defense agencies, militaries and international organizations of various countries, and is playing an active role in promoting regional security and stability and maintaining world peace and development.
The ongoing Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which runs until Saturday, will also hold eight parallel group sessions, focusing on themes such as the correct way for China and the United States to get along, European security trends and Middle East peace vision. This year, a new session on outer space security has been set up for participants to jointly discuss issues on outer space security governance.
Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level security and defense forum in the Asia-Pacific with significant international influence.
11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opens with focus on hotspots, security cooperation
