83 million passengers in 5 days: China's railways run 13,000 trains during Dragon Boat Festival peak
Overnight high‑speed express trains on the Beijing‑Guangzhou, Beijing‑Shanghai and Beijing‑Harbin lines, extra sleeper trains from Shanghai and Beijing to Guangdong. Water transport to carry 2.95 million passengers, up 8% year‑on‑year. Peak travel is expected on Friday.
As reported by CCTV+, during the five‑day peak travel period for the Dragon Boat Festival, which began on Thursday, China's railway network is expected to serve about 83 million passengers. The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu) falls on Friday this year, which is expected to be the peak day for passenger traffic. Railway authorities have increased capacity and improved service quality to meet the surge in travel demand.
Zhou Changfeng, deputy director of the Product Development Department at the Passenger Transport Centre of China State Railway Group, explained: "We are implementing a peak‑period timetable, using both high‑speed and conventional rail resources, with about 13,000 passenger trains planned daily. From the night of June 18 to the early morning of June 19, and from the night of June 21 to the early morning of June 22, overnight high‑speed trains are scheduled on major routes including the Beijing‑Guangzhou, Beijing‑Shanghai and Beijing‑Harbin lines. In addition, on Thursday we also added high‑speed sleeper trains from Shanghai and Beijing to Guangdong Province and other destinations." According to transport authorities, road traffic is expected to concentrate around major tourist attractions and transport hubs. Water transport is forecast to handle 2.95 million passenger trips nationwide, up 8.0% from the same period last year.
The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu) is one of China's oldest traditional holidays, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. In 2026, it falls on June 19. Traditions include eating zongzi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), racing dragon boats and wearing fragrant sachets. Mass travel during holidays is a long‑standing tradition: Chinese people use the long weekend to visit family or take tourist trips. The railways respond with record volumes — 83 million passengers in five days is roughly the population of Germany.
When 83 million people set off at the same time, the country becomes a single flow. The Dragon Boat Festival is not just rice dumplings and boat races — it is millions of family reunions, thousands of kilometres of roads, hundreds of thousands of tickets. And while passengers rush to their loved ones, railway workers run overnight expresses so no one misses the celebration. Speed, comfort and tradition merge into one. And when a train races along the night line, it carries not just people — it carries the warmth of home.
