The National Day holiday travel peak starts early, with 2.13 billion people traveling, reflecting China’s economic vitality and transformation

"On September 30, I will go from Beijing to Xuchang to visit Fatonglai, then return to my hometown in Hunan to attend a relative's wedding, and finally go to Wuhan for a visit." This is the National Day holiday arrangement of Ms. Zhou, a white-collar worker.

Like Ms. Zhou, many people choose to take time off or take time off to have an extended National Day holiday, giving them more time to travel.

Because of this, the great migration during the National Day holiday has actually started in advance.

Holiday travel numbers will be at a high level. According to the forecast of the Ministry of Transport, the number of cross-regional people movements in society during the seven-day National Day holiday will reach 2.13 billion.

What is this concept?

On average, 300 million people travel every day, which is about 1.7 times the usual number. To put it figuratively, approximately one person of the United States' population is "moved" every day.

The flowing China is steaming with steam, and a new record may be set. According to estimates, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday transportation cycles, the number of railway passengers across the country will reach 284 million, and the peak single-day passenger volume is expected to exceed 24.4 million, which is expected to hit a record high for the National Day peak.

The popularity of civil aviation is also increasing. From September 25 to October 7, civil aviation is expected to transport 31.19 million passengers, and the single-day peak is expected to exceed 2.6 million passengers, exceeding the level of the same period last year.

The highway traffic is even fuller. The Ministry of Transport predicts that this year’s National Day holiday will be dominated by road travel, accounting for more than 90%. The highway traffic volume on the first day is expected to reach 71 million vehicles, nearly 1.9 times the average daily traffic volume in August.

The roads are busy with traffic and the scenic spots are crowded with people. Under the lively appearance, this national travel wave actually has many new changes worth taking a closer look at.

The flow of people is moving deeper into the county. "Ben County In-depth Tour" has become a highlight of this year's Golden Week. Qunar travel data shows that during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the number of air tickets to the "Treasure Cities" in third-tier cities and below increased by more than 30% year-on-year, with significant growth in tourists from Huangshan, Zunyi, Jinhua, and Xing'an League.

More and more people no longer gather in popular scenic spots, but take advantage of the long vacation to visit small towns and counties, slow down to experience the local fireworks, and immerse themselves in local life. The China Tourism Association's "Tourism Market Insight Report for the First Half of 2026" shows that county tourism has become an important growth pole of the market, with off-site consumption in counties increasing by 14.1% year-on-year.

There are also more and more foreign faces. Data from online travel platforms show that a large number of foreign tourists fly to core domestic cities. The number of foreign tourists flying to Zhuhai and Wenzhou has tripled, and the number of tourists flying to Yiwu, Lhasa, Kunming, and Yichang has doubled.

From "China Travel" (China Travel) to "China Cool" (China is cool and cool), "Chinamaxxing" (extremely Chinese), and then to the newly popular "China Haul" (China Shopping Unpacking), new hot words are constantly emerging, and behind them is the continuous heating up of inbound tourism. In the first seven months of this year, the consumption of foreigners in China increased by 27.8% year-on-year.

Looking at the traffic flow on the road, the presence of new energy vehicles is getting stronger and stronger.

The Ministry of Transport predicts that on the first day of the National Day holiday, the traffic volume of new energy vehicles on expressways will reach 17.8 million vehicles, which is 1.8 times the daily traffic volume.

A few years ago, petroleum vehicles were the first choice for people to buy and travel, while new energy vehicles were only a niche choice. But in just a few years, there are no fuel vehicles among the top ten in sales, and more and more people dare to drive long distances in new energy vehicles.

Behind this is the continuous maturity of the domestic new energy industry chain, continuous improvement of battery life, and increasingly dense charging network. From January to August this year alone, about 11,000 new high-power charging facilities (charging guns) were added to the service area, which is the total number of last year and before.

Industrial upgrading sounds abstract, but the increasing number of new energy vehicles on the National Day road provides concrete examples.

The flow of people means vitality, and the flow of vehicles means transformation. This great migration of 2.13 billion people is an excellent window to observe the current Chinese economy.

｜Chief Planner: Yu Lan

｜Planner: Zhou Rui

｜Coordinator: Wang Qingkai

｜Written by: Li Jinlei

｜Editor: Cheng Chunyu

｜Proofreading: Huang Lei

｜Produced by "Sanlihe" Studio