Railway traffic rebounds during May Day holiday

China's railway network witnessed a rebound of passengers during the May Day holiday as the novel coronavirus outbreak eased its grip nationwide, according to the country's top railway operator.

Between April 30 and Tuesday, the country's vast railway network handled 33.8 million passenger trips－a decent figure, though still far lower than last year's 72.7 million, China State Railway Group said on Wednesday.

The daily passenger trip volume has surged since the three-day Tomb Sweeping break in early April, as people who had been cooped up at home for weeks leapt at the opportunity to get away for a few days.

The country saw 7.37 million railway trips on May 1－the first day of the five-day holiday－setting a single-day record after the Spring Festival, the company said.

According to data from mapping app Amap, many travelers tended to visit outdoor attractions within their own cities and provinces during the holiday this year. The railway group has added more intercity train and overnight sleeper train services to cope with people's needs for short trips or family gatherings.

The railway department operated an average of 7,153 passenger trains per day between April 30 and Tuesday, an increase of more than 2,000 trains before the holiday, it added.

The country also handled 3.1 million flights, a year-on-year drop of about 63.8 percent, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The new Beijing Daxing International Airport embraced an uptick in passenger trips during the break as well, since more flights have moved from Beijing Capital International Airport in recent months, handling 708 flights and 58,300 passenger trips during the holiday, the aviation administration said.

Wei Yesheng, manager of the airport's operation management department, said that after Beijing lowered its emergency response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, both the number of flights and passengers began to pick up after April 30.

During its first May Day holiday after beginning operations, Daxing airport handled an average of 140 flights and about 10,000 passenger trips per day, he added.