Holiday return trips have peaked in major hub cities across China, as the week-long National Day holiday is coming to its end.
Starting from Oct 1, the National Day holiday, another "golden week" after the Spring Festival holiday, is usually one of the peak travel seasons on China's domestic tourism calendar.
According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the daily railway passenger volume has exceeded 17 million for six consecutive days.
Peak return passenger flow at the Changchun Railway Station in northeast China's Jilin Province appeared on Sunday, and the station is expected to handle as many as 130,000 passenger trips on Monday, according to the railway department.
To cope with the rush, the Changchun Railway Station added temporary trains and coordinated with local transportation departments to increase bus and rail transit services to ensure smooth passenger transfer.
In north China's Hebei Province, vehicle flows have shifted from scenic spots to expressways.
A large number of vehicles started to flock into the expressway networks at 07:00 on Sunday, and the traffic volume on local expressway networks peaked at around 17:00, with about 513,000 vehicles passing per hour.
Vehicles were moving slowly on several expressway sections heading to Beijing.
"Hebei is a major transit province, so the car flows expanded gradually. Currently, the expressway networks around Beijing, Tianjin and the provincial capital Shijiazhuang are highly saturated," said Gong Shaohui, deputy director of Hebei Provincial Expressway Traffic Police Corps Command Center.
The Hebei Expressway Traffic Police Corps predicted that the traffic volume on local expressway networks will remain high on Monday.
"There will be a small peak at 11:00 or 12:00 at noon, and the peak will culminate from 14:00 to 17:00 or 18:00, when the traffic volume on the way is expected to reach 550,000 vehicles per hour, which will be concentrated in expressway sections around Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang," said Gong.
In Hubei in central China, railways, roads and civil aviation started to see travel peaks on Sunday.
At the Hankou Railway Station in the provincial capital Wuhan, long lines of passengers were seen at every ticket gate on Sunday afternoon. The passenger arrivals at the station exceeded 10,000 per hour and even breached 18,000 at round 20:00.
The three major railway stations of Wuhan, Hankou and Wuchang in the city handled more than 330,000 departing passenger trips and over 440,000 passenger arrivals on Sunday.
In order to ensure smooth passenger transit at night, subway stations connecting to railway stations have extended their operation hours.
Hub cities see holiday return trips' peak
Macao has been emerging as a global hub for conventions and exhibitions in recent years by exploring the enormous opportunities in the sector, driving the region to advance its economic diversification and embrace a brighter future.
Macao has received many awards this year, such as the Best Convention City (Asia) and the Best BT-MICE City, showcasing the recognition for and influence of Macao's exhibition industry.
More than 1,000 electronic game enthusiasts from all over the world gathered recently in Macao to participate in a esports themed event.
Su Zhili, organizer of the event, said that Macao's rich experience in hosting large-scale events, coupled with its good infrastructure, has driven him to choose the region as an ideal destination to hold such an activity.
"Macao has held many similar large-scale events. It has rich experience, and the facilities at the venue are relatively mature, so we can start our work comfortably," said Su.
During the first three quarters of 2024, Macao held more than 1,000 conferences and exhibitions in total.
"We will invite more professional, special conferences to be held in Macao and also cultivate more exhibition brands with international influence in Macao, so as to promote Macao's exhibitions to be more market-oriented, professional, international, digital and greener from various aspects. This is our goal," said Elaine Wong, member of the Macao Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute.
In addition, multiple large exhibitions and conferences, such as the Macao International Trade and Investment fair, the Macao Franchise Expo, and the International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum, are held regularly in Macao.
With the introduction of a series of policies and measures to facilitate the exchanges between the mainland and Macao, as well as the construction and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Macao's convention and exhibition industry will embrace more opportunities for development in the foreseeable future.
"We have such a good industrial base in the Greater Bay Area. The mode of 'Convention and Exhibition + Industry' not only integrates the industries of Macao, but also the industries of the Greater Bay Area. In addition, Macao actively integrates into the national development and plays a role in the Belt and Road. Why are we so confident in Macao's convention and exhibition sector? Because it is backed by the motherland, and the country gives Macao great support," said Alan Ho, chairman of the Macao Association of Convention, Exhibition and Tourism Sectors.
Macao emerges as global hub for conventions and exhibitions, driving economic diversification and international recognition
