Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

0:00
0:00

China's New Year travel set to double to 2bn trips after zero-COVID easing

Lunar New Year travel will nearly double to 2.095 billion trips this season, Chinese transportation authorities said Friday, after the country all but abolished zero-COVID restrictions last month. Nation readies for first holiday in four years without limits on movements.
This year's holiday will run for seven days through Jan. 27. Rail and other networks have prepared to serve the crush of travelers for a 40-day period starting Saturday.

The estimated number of passenger trips, released by the Ministry of Transport, would mark a recovery to 70% of the holiday traffic seen in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

China's surge in COVID-19 cases appears to be easing in some large cities, but the outbreak is far from over. Concerns linger that the travel rush will spread the disease to smaller cities and rural areas.

Migrant workers typically use the Lunar New Year holiday to travel home for family reunions. On Friday, a train station in Guangzhou that serves long-haul trips was thronged with passengers lugging large suitcases.

"My parents at home and I have already recovered from COVID," said a man who gave his surname as Lu and was on the way to visit family in southern China's Guangxi region. "There's nothing to worry about, so we'll get together with relatives."

Overseas trips are expected to climb as well from the zero-COVID lows of last year. The number of travel reservations for the week through Jan. 27 is more than six times that of the Lunar New Year holiday of 2022, according to Chinese booking site Trip.com Group. The most popular destination is Australia, followed by Thailand and Japan.

The Chinese government pave the way for the first Lunar New Year holiday in four years without major travel restrictions when it with announced a major rollback of zero-COVID rules last month.

This reversal followed protests in November where people in Beijing, Shanghai and beyond held up blank sheets of white paper and called for an end to the restrictive measures, which included lockdowns and mass testing.

The economic fallout added to the resentment of the zero-COVID policy. Gross domestic product is believed to have grown by about 3% in real terms in 2022 -- well short of the government's target of around 5.5%. The deteriorating labor market has left a growing number of young people without work.

But as the containment policy eased, COVID-19 flared up in big cities. According to estimates by regional authorities and medical professionals, 80% of Beijing residents had a history of infection at the end of the year. The ratios are 70% for Shanghai and about 64% for the inland province of Sichuan.

U.K. health analytics firm Airfinity pegged daily infections at 2.5 million and daily deaths at 16,600 in China forecasts updated Friday, up from more than 1 million and over 5,000 in a Dec. 21 forecast.

Airfinity predicts that China's cumulative deaths from COVID-19 since Dec. 1 will reach 1.7 million by the end of April, up from more than 209,000 in Friday's numbers.

Beijing and other big cities have been seeing people move about in greater numbers since late last month. In 18 large cities, the volume of subway passengers at the end of the year had bounced back to 60% of the level seen at the same period in 2019, according to Chinese brokerage Haitong Securities.

Nearly all Seven-Eleven convenience stores in Beijing were operating normally as of Monday. In December, 60 stores, or about 20% of the total in the Chinese capital, had to close temporarily as workers called in sick. Customer traffic is recovering, too, said a representative from Seven-Eleven's parent company, Japan's Seven & i Holdings.

The Lunar New Year holiday will provide the first big test of China's looser approach to containing COVID-19.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×