MKsport 2025, the last day of 2025 Spring Festival travel rush. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-24/c0fd95f7-7fb3-4070-94bf-ec0e8ca3395d.jpeg" />

Passengers walk at a train platform of Beijing North Railway Station on February 22, 2025, the last day of 2025 Spring Festival travel rush. Photo: VCG

The 2025 Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyunin Chinese, wrapped up on Saturday, with a record high of 9.02 billion passenger trips seen in the 40-day period - 510 million by rail, 90.2 million by air, and 7.17 billion by car. The largest cyclical human migration is a manifestation of the immense vitality of China as well as the Chinese people's growing confidence in the nation's future.

What was once a "luxury" for the people has turned out to be a routine phenomenon in China, where travel with ease and comfort has become part of Chinese people's everyday life. 

That the people are now able to take high-speed trains or drive their own cars to reunite with their families 1,000 miles away in a single day, is the result of China's unprecedented investment in modern infrastructure, and the rapid development continues to gain pace. 

Undoubtedly, some emerging issues in development could be effectively addressed through pursuing high-quality growth. For instance, to meet the growing demand for travel, new rail lines and new stations are constantly launched, with train speeds steadily rising.

About 20 years ago, the average railway mileage per person in China was "shorter than a cigarette," but today, high-speed railways have already extended to 96 percent of China's cities with populations surpassing 500,000.

And, about 10 years ago, the roads in the Pearl River Delta in South China were overwhelmed by fleets of motorcycles during the Spring Festival travel rush season. Today, car travel has become the mainstay. With the completion of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link and Huangmaohai Sea-Crossing Passage, the driving for home has become much easier and shorter too. 

According to official statistics, China's vast, multi-layered transportation network stretches over 6 million kilometers, consisting of over 160,000 kilometers of railways and 4.6 million kilometers of rural roads. 

Supported by the world's longest high-speed railway system, most extensive expressway network, and world-class sea and river ports, the vision of "highly efficient and smooth travel for people and goods" is quickly becoming a reality, shaping the distinctive landscape of China's Spring Festival travel.

Empowered by innovation

Mobility is not only getting faster, but also the quality has significantly improved. From the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush, it is not hard to fathom the growing power of innovation in China.

Drones were seen hovering over highways as traffic police directed car drivers to harness the traffic. And, at high-speed railway stations, passengers used facial recognition system to enter platforms, saving printed paper tickets. 

Moreover, 16 domestically-made C919 passenger aircraft joined the travel season, while the newly upgraded Fuxing smart bullet trains made an impressive debut. Also, China's first domestically built large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, launched its Spring Festival-themed voyage.

This year's Spring Festival travel rush witnessed a new wave of innovations across China. Across the mushrooming new train stations and terminals, digital displays and intelligent reading machines were just everywhere. With the help of the smart devices, traffic information and roadside assistance was available by just a screen-tap.

Innovation goes far beyond travel. From humanoid robots dancing on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Show to China's DeepSeek AI models topping global app download charts, from hiking assistance robots at Mount Tai to the development of moon-landing spacesuit named Wangyu(gazing into the cosmos), and the manned lunar rover named Tansuo(explore the unknown) - China has become one of the world's fastest-growing innovators. 

By whatever metrics, Chinese people's limitless passion for innovation will continue to drive the country's high-quality development.

Unleashing great potential

The 2025 Spring Festival travel season has apparently evolved into a dynamic catalyst for ramping up the country's massive market vitality. The holiday has witnessed a fusion of new tourism patterns amid traditional family reunions, where the nostalgia for hometown traditions are increasingly intertwined with emerging wanderlust that may redefine the Spring Festival travel rush in the coming years.

Some localities saw traditional Spring Festival celebrations take the center stage, while in other localities, plush drone shows and AI-themed temple fairs created new highlights for the young people. With the innovative combination of "culture + technology," a good number of Chinese cities are stepping up efforts to attract visitors, turning tourist traffic into a boost for local consumption.

During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, China recorded more than 500 million domestic passenger trips, up by 5.9 percent from a year ago, while tourism spending increased by 7 percent to reach 677 billion yuan ($93.37 billion).

Once deemed as a grave logistical challenge, the travel rush has evolved into an economic growth catalyst. Expanding infrastructure projects has not only met rising travel demand but also driven up capital investment, and the surging passenger flows are translating into ever stronger spending power.

The Chinese New Year has now become a global event of mass celebration. Through this peak travel season, we have seen the expansion of greater development opportunities. 

The 2025 Spring Festival was also the first "Intangible Cultural Heritage Chinese New Year," and Chinese people were pleasantly surprised to see more "foreign faces" among the inbound sightseers.

With China's streamlined transit visa-free policy, many foreigners transited from previously "observing" to "experiencing" the Spring Festival travel rush. Over 3.43 million inbound tourists from 175 countries and regions entered China during the festival, marking a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase.

Such "international flair" is also a snapshot of China's openness and inclusiveness. The country now stands as the primary trade partner of more than 150 countries and regions. China has been leading the global goods trade for 8 consecutive years. Pursuing the opening-up policy, the country has consistently expanded its "circle of friends" on this planet.

From orderly journeys to premium services, bustling commerce to global connectivity, the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush - marked by the record-breaking mobility of 9 billion passenger trips, looks like a time-traveling bullet train, taking China on a bright path toward achieving even greater successes.  

The article was originally published on the front page of the People's Daily on February 24, 2025.