China sees record-breaking interregional travels during Qingming Festival holiday

The total number of interregional passenger trips across China during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday is estimated to reach a record high of 790 million, according to official data released on Sunday — the last day of the holiday.

The Ministry of Transport said that an average of 264 million passenger trips were made each day during the three-day period, up 7.1 percent year on year.

On Friday, the first day of the holiday, 20.09 million railway passenger trips were made nationwide, a new high for daily railway passenger transport so far this year.

The number of road trips increased significantly during the holiday, with self-driving trips accounting for more than 90 percent of the total.

Waterway trips and air trips all registered an increase of over 10 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Ports in Zhuhai City of south China’s Guangdong Province reported record numbers of inbound and outbound passenger trips and vehicle crossings.

From Friday to noon on Sunday, the ports in Zhuhai saw more than 272,000 passenger trips and more than 57,000 vehicle crossings through them, up 32.1 percent and 41.7 percent respectively over the same period of last year.

Many households in China’s Hong Kong and Macao entered the mainland to pay respect to their ancestors, visit their relatives and take short trips during the holiday, contributing to the surge in traffic on the famous Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

During the three-day period, 41,000 crossings by vehicles registered solely in Hong Kong or Macao were processed at the bridge’s border checkpoints, up 50 percent over the same period of last year.

The number of Hong Kong-bound and Macao-bound trips made by mainland travelers through the border checks reached 42,000, up 30.6 percent year on year. The number of border entries and exits through the bridge by foreigners visiting the Chinese mainland during the holiday season reached 3,700, up 27.4 percent year on year.

The Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, traditionally falls on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox. It is a traditional Chinese festival focusing on paying tribute to the dead and the worship of ancestors. It is also customary to enjoy outdoor activities and sightseeing during the festival.

China’s box office revenue for the three-day Qingming Festival holiday that started on Friday, including pre-sales, had exceeded 370 million yuan (50.8 million U.S. dollars) as of 20:01 on Sunday, according to box office tracker Dengta Data, with the video game adaptation “A Minecraft Movie” taking the top spot.

The U.S. animated film, based on the best-selling game, has been a major draw, accounting for over 25 percent of screenings in Shanghai. Its popularity is fueled by a dedicated fanbase, with young moviegoers expressing their affection to the game.

“I’ve been playing the game since I was a little girl,” said a young moviegoer, while another added, “I started to play it when I was in Grade Two [of primary school], so I’ve been playing it for about eight years.”

While the game adaption benefits from a strong fanbase, other niche releases, such as the Japanese anime “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX,” also attracted their target audiences, securing the sixth spot in the box office rankings. Two realism-focused films, “We Girls” and “Mumu,” captured the second and fourth places, respectively.

The re-release of the blockbuster animated film “Ne Zha 2” performed strongly, landing in the third place with over 71 million yuan (9.75 million U.S. dollars) in sales.

Despite the success of “Ne Zha 2” during the Spring Festival holiday season running from late January to early February, the market has yet to see another major blockbuster emerge.

Smaller, independent films often struggle to reach audiences due to limited marketing, especially during competitive holiday periods.

Lu Ying, a cinema manager, suggests that extending the theatrical runs of these films during off-peak times can tap into targeted audiences and create benefits in the long run.

“A film maintaining a momentum of popularity for two weekends, followed by other good releases, is a right rhythm for cinemas as we expect,” Lu noted.