China saw a National Day holiday return trip peak on Sunday, with the Ministry of Transport estimating over 282 million cross-regional trips taking place on the sixth day of the country's "Golden Week."
The National Day holiday, also known as "golden week," is usually one of the peak seasons on China's domestic tourism calendar.
Holidaymakers across the country headed home by train, car and air on the day, with the estimated volume of total trips 6.5 percent up from the same period last year. Railways in particular are expected to handle 18.73 million passengers, with 1,432 additional trains scheduled.
The national railway network has been handling over 17 million passengers for six consecutive days since the holiday travel rush started.
Highways across the country continue to maintain high volumes of traffic, mostly from return trips.
The nation's capital Beijing saw significant increases of traffic flow entering the city on major highways.
Meanwhile, the country's civil aviation sector is expected to transport more than 2.34 million passengers on the same day. Airlines within China have handled over 11.4 million passengers in the first five days of the holiday.
Holiday travel enters return peak on day 6 of China's 'Golden Week'
Holiday travel enters return peak on day 6 of China's 'Golden Week'
Holiday travel enters return peak on day 6 of China's 'Golden Week'
Flower breeding and cultivation bases across China are actively promoting new and healthier varieties of flowering trees and plants, helping create a brighter future for the country's famous springtime scenery.
In a peach blossom scenic area in Changde City of central China's Hunan Province, more than 50 varieties of peach blossoms are in full bloom, attracting flocks of visitors.
The varieties in the area come from the national peach germplasm resource bank in the city. Through artificial cultivation, not only are the varieties of flowers increasing, but the flowering period is also being extended.
According to researchers, one of the star varieties, noted for its rich color, took nearly 16 years to cultivate and promote in the scenic area.
"Its biggest feature is its strong resistance to gummosis. We can see that although a branch like this is damaged, there is no gummosis, so it has a long lifespan and can be used in gardens for a longer time," said Wang Yan, professor of the province's Changde Vocational and Technical College.
Gummosis is the formation of gummy substances on the surface of the trees, which often result from dead tissue.
At Phalaenopsis World, the country's largest phalaenopsis tissue culture center in Suqian City in east China's Jiangsu Province, technicians are cutting phalaenopsis seedlings into thin slices and planting them one by one in transparent bottles, allowing them to multiply exponentially.
"The breeding cycle is short, and the light, temperature and humidity can be freely adjusted artificially. The phalaenopsis bred using this technology have high uniformity and fast growth rate," said Wang Yanting, a plant inoculation specialist at the cultivation center.
Researchers said that the planting center uses more than 200 smart sensors and 5G technology to accurately control growth factors such as temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation to achieve "timed flowering."
"In fact, the natural flowering period of phalaenopsis should be from the beginning of the Chinese New Year to early May, and this is its natural state. Now we can intervene with technology and make it bloom any day we want. Phalaenopsis blooms through temperature regulation. At this time, we need to use air conditioning equipment, constant temperature equipment and dehumidification equipment," said Cao Guofeng, director of the cultivation base.
Breeding bases across China promote new spring flower varieties
