China sees record-breaking interregional travels during Qingming Festival holiday

The total number of interregional passenger trips across China during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday is estimated to reach a record high of 790 million, according to official data released on Sunday -- the last day of the holiday.

The Ministry of Transport said that an average of 264 million passenger trips were made each day during the three-day period, up 7.1 percent year on year.

On Friday, the first day of the holiday, 20.09 million railway passenger trips were made nationwide, a new high for daily railway passenger transport so far this year.

The number of road trips increased significantly during the holiday, with self-driving trips accounting for more than 90 percent of the total.

Waterway trips and air trips all registered an increase of over 10 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Ports in Zhuhai City of south China's Guangdong Province reported record numbers of inbound and outbound passenger trips and vehicle crossings.

From Friday to noon on Sunday, the ports in Zhuhai saw more than 272,000 passenger trips and more than 57,000 vehicle crossings through them, up 32.1 percent and 41.7 percent respectively over the same period of last year.

Many households in China's Hong Kong and Macao entered the mainland to pay respect to their ancestors, visit their relatives and take short trips during the holiday, contributing to the surge in traffic on the famous Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

During the three-day period, 41,000 crossings by vehicles registered solely in Hong Kong or Macao were processed at the bridge's border checkpoints, up 50 percent over the same period of last year.

The number of Hong Kong-bound and Macao-bound trips made by mainland travelers through the border checks reached 42,000, up 30.6 percent year on year. The number of border entries and exits through the bridge by foreigners visiting the Chinese mainland during the holiday season reached 3,700, up 27.4 percent year on year.

The Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, traditionally falls on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox. It is a traditional Chinese festival focusing on paying tribute to the dead and the worship of ancestors. It is also customary to enjoy outdoor activities and sightseeing during the festival.

China sees record-breaking interregional travels during Qingming Festival holiday

Many weapons provided by Germany to Ukraine for the latter's conflict with Russia have technical flaws, according to German media.

As the crisis continues, Germany has become the second largest military supporter for Ukraine.

Recently, several German media outlets have obtained a classified document from Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense, which revealed that plenty of weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine have technical flaws, as most of the German systems are only partially suitable for combat.

Feedbacks from Ukrainian forces show that the primary issues with German weapons are high cost in ammunition, fragile systems and complex maintenance.

For example, the PzH-2000 is prone to malfunction technically, which significantly undermines its combat effectiveness.

In addition, Leopard tanks could either lack enough protection, or are too challenging to repair due to their complicated structures.

The document recorded remarks from a German officer stationed in Ukraine, who said the utilization rate of German weapons is quite low as they have to be repaired in factories and many of such factories are located in west Ukraine, which are far away from the frontline.

For now, Germany's incoming administration hasn't taken a clear stand on how to solve the Ukrainian crisis, and German people are also getting more and more frustrated over the endless military support. Therefore, dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still going to be a big challenge for the new government.

Weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine have technical flaws: media