BEIJING (AFP): China's railway network handled 24.8 million passengers on May 1, a single-day record, the China State Railway Group has announced.
Another 19.7 million journeys were expected on Saturday, the group wrote in a post on WeChat, with official booking channels racking up sales of 117 million train tickets so far for the May Day holiday period, which runs until Tuesday.
The figures point to strong domestic tourism during the holiday and a potential uptick in consumer spending, which has remained fragile in the world's second-largest economy since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Faced with weak consumption and a prolonged property market slump, China has in recent years relied on exports to drive economic growth, despite a raft of pro-consumption policies.
This year's May 1 figure for railway trips was 1.7 million higher than on the same day in 2025.
The railway network has added thousands of additional train services to cope with the holiday demand, the China State Railway Group said. -- AFP
