China State Railway Group says the national network handled 258 million passenger trips between 2 and 21 February, the first half of the 40-day Spring Festival transport window. Daily ridership reached 17.19 million on 21 February and is projected to hover near 18 million for several more days, with 2,203 additional trains in service to absorb demand. (english.www.gov.cn)
High-speed services on the Beijing–Shanghai, Beijing–Guangzhou and Hangzhou–Shenzhen corridors are running at near-capacity, helped by dynamic pricing and flexible rolling-stock allocations that allow operators to lengthen trainsets at peak times. Unlike previous years, the majority of seats are being booked online via the 12306 mobile platform, underlining China’s rapid digitalisation of ticketing and passenger services.
Whether you're a returning Chinese national or an overseas visitor planning to take advantage of the expanded waiver schemes, securing the right travel documents in advance remains essential. VisaHQ’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) streamlines the application process for visas, entry permits and passport renewals, offering guided forms, real-time status tracking and live support so that travellers can focus on booking those high-speed rail seats instead of queuing at consulates.
![Railways log 258 million journeys halfway through Spring Festival period]()
The rail surge is not just about family reunions. Corporates have resumed sending technical teams and project managers by high-speed rail because door-to-door times on many city-pairs beat air travel once airport transfers and security are factored in. Hospitality analysts point to a sharp rise in same-day hotel bookings in second-tier industrial hubs such as Hefei, Zhengzhou and Changsha—evidence that short-haul business trips are back.
Railway authorities are emphasising passenger-experience enhancements, from AI-enabled crowd-management systems in station concourses to bilingual customer-service kiosks targeting a growing pool of overseas visitors benefiting from new visa-waiver schemes. Employers with personnel travelling on tight schedules should nevertheless build in buffers: weather-related slow-downs and sporadic equipment failures have already caused select delays.
With another 20 days of chunyun still to go, the operator warns that popular evening departures immediately after the public holiday may sell out within minutes of release. Travel teams are advised to monitor 12306 in real time and leverage corporate quotas where available.
High-speed services on the Beijing–Shanghai, Beijing–Guangzhou and Hangzhou–Shenzhen corridors are running at near-capacity, helped by dynamic pricing and flexible rolling-stock allocations that allow operators to lengthen trainsets at peak times. Unlike previous years, the majority of seats are being booked online via the 12306 mobile platform, underlining China’s rapid digitalisation of ticketing and passenger services.
Whether you're a returning Chinese national or an overseas visitor planning to take advantage of the expanded waiver schemes, securing the right travel documents in advance remains essential. VisaHQ’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) streamlines the application process for visas, entry permits and passport renewals, offering guided forms, real-time status tracking and live support so that travellers can focus on booking those high-speed rail seats instead of queuing at consulates.
The rail surge is not just about family reunions. Corporates have resumed sending technical teams and project managers by high-speed rail because door-to-door times on many city-pairs beat air travel once airport transfers and security are factored in. Hospitality analysts point to a sharp rise in same-day hotel bookings in second-tier industrial hubs such as Hefei, Zhengzhou and Changsha—evidence that short-haul business trips are back.
Railway authorities are emphasising passenger-experience enhancements, from AI-enabled crowd-management systems in station concourses to bilingual customer-service kiosks targeting a growing pool of overseas visitors benefiting from new visa-waiver schemes. Employers with personnel travelling on tight schedules should nevertheless build in buffers: weather-related slow-downs and sporadic equipment failures have already caused select delays.
With another 20 days of chunyun still to go, the operator warns that popular evening departures immediately after the public holiday may sell out within minutes of release. Travel teams are advised to monitor 12306 in real time and leverage corporate quotas where available.
