China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. started to sell train tickets for October 4th, the railway authority said on Wednesday. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day holiday.
According to statistics from China Railway Group, from September 13th to 18th, a total of 111 million railway tickets were sold nationwide. Train tickets for key stations have run out of supply in the first several days of the National Day holiday.
To meet the demand for travel, during the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, China Railway Group will increase its transportation capacity by increasing the daily seating capacity by 18.5% on the average.
Last Friday, China saw 22.88 million train tickets sold out, setting a new record for single-day ticket sales.
Of the total, 20.95 million train tickets were sold on China's official railway ticket-booking website, 12306.cn, and its official app, according to China Railway.
Friday marks the presale of train tickets for the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, which extend from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 this year.
Ticket sales volumes reflect the travel demands of the people and the trends in economic and social development, said an official of China Railway, adding that the record-breaking ticket sales on Sept 15 are indicative of the strong demand for travel during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day "golden week" holiday.
China is expected to see 190 million railway trips during the upcoming 12-day travel rush, which will last from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, falling on Sept. 29 this year, is a traditional Chinese Festival usually marked by family reunions, watching the full moon and eating mooncakes.
