Robust travels during Chinese Spring Festival holiday

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China reported nearly 2.3 billion trips in varied modes of transport during the just concluded Spring Festival holiday that ran from Feb. 10 to 17 this year.

Specifically, train journeys stood at 99.46 million, road trips hit more than 2.16 billion, water routes hit 9.41 million, and flights reached 17.99 million, according to data released by the government's work team for this year's Spring Festival holiday travel rush.

Saturday, the last day of the eight-day holiday, saw 308.28 million trips taken, up 52.4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, the data showed.

Since Saturday, a new cold wave began to spread across some parts of the country, with central and eastern regions expecting sharp temperature drops, rain and snow, according to meteorological forecasts.

The Ministry of Transport requested local transport authorities to fully prepare for any adverse weather events and ensure smooth travels for passengers.