Round Table China The numbers behind the Chinese New Year
10 snips
Feb 24, 2026 They unpack Spring Festival data on tourism, box office and consumer spending. Travel statistics and transport shifts get close attention, from 1.6 billion trips to rail and air trends. Cultural tourism and gala surprises, including robots and surprise performers, are highlighted. Big-ticket purchases, duty-free growth and rising inbound tourism round out the discussion.
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Record Breaking Spring Festival Travel
- China’s Spring Festival travel surged to new highs with 1.6 billion trips in the first five days and 5 billion cross-regional trips in the first 20 days.
- Highways saw 200 million private vehicle trips per day and railway passengers reached 121 million, both up ~11% year on year.
Private Cars Dominated Holiday Movement
- Self-driving dominated the holiday: about 80% of travel was private car trips, supported by 550 million motor vehicles nationwide.
- New energy vehicle registrations were large — 1.62 million in H1 2025 — helping push private car travel up ~30% year on year in segments.
Book Trains Early And Use 12306 For Flexibility
- Use official railway platform 12306 to benefit from flexible ticket rules like fee-free refunds within 30 minutes of payment and at least four hours before departure.
- That policy reduces last-minute risk but busy routes still sell out, so book early on popular corridors like Beijing–Shanghai.