China's Qiongzhou Strait gears up to ensure smooth Spring Festival travel rush

China's Qiongzhou Strait is bracing for a surge in passenger and vehicle traffic during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, the first since the launch of island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), according to the Ministry of Transport.

Connecting South China's island province of Hainan with Guangdong Province on the mainland, the strait is expected to handle more than 4.66 million passenger trips and over 1.17 million vehicle crossings, representing year-on-year increases of 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively, the ministry said on Friday.

Demand for cross-strait transport of new energy vehicles (NEVs) is projected to rise sharply, with NEV shipments expected to exceed 200,000 units, accounting for more than 17 percent of the total vehicle traffic, according to the ministry.

Li Ying, spokesperson for the ministry, said transport authorities are ramping up preparations to ensure smooth and orderly travel during the peak period.

To address the rapid growth in NEV transport demand, she said that measures have been taken to raise the daily NEV transport capacity from an average of 3,500 units in 2025 to 5,000 units.

This year's Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, will run from Feb. 2 to March 13. Official estimates indicate that inter-regional passenger trips during the period are projected to reach 9.5 billion, a record high. ■