China sees rising traffic as holiday nears end

Passengers wait for trains at the Nanchang West Railway Station in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)

China's transport system saw rising traffic Wednesday as millions of people started to return to work after the week-long Lunar New Year Holiday.

Some 9.7 million passenger trips were estimated on Chinese railways on Wednesday, year-on-year growth of 9 percent, as the week-long holiday draws to a close Thursday, according to China Railway Corporation.

Traffic on expressways around major cities also increased, leading to rising congestion.

During the New Year holiday, hundreds of millions of people go back to their hometowns to meet relatives and old friends, and as Chinese people become more affluent and keen to travel, pressure on the transport system is huge.

Data from the China National Tourism Administration showed some 27.4 million visitor trips were made in China Wedneday, up 14.1 percent year on year.

Tourism revenue reached 34 billion yuan (about 4.96 billion U.S. dollars) on the day.