China's Ministry of Transport said the total number of cross-regional passenger trips on the first day of the Qingming Festival holiday is estimated at 295.91 million on Saturday, up 2.7% year on year.

Driven by overlapping spring breaks in some regions, overall travel during the Qingming holiday is expected to increase by about 6% compared with the same period last year.

Sichuan and Guizhou provinces in southwest China, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in east China, as well as many cities in other provinces introduced their first-ever spring break this year.

Spring break schedules vary nationwide: the break typically lasts two or three days from April 1, but falls at different times. In some areas the break comes just before the three-day Qingming Festival in early April, while in others it extends into the May Day holiday or is combined with weekends, resulting in a break of five to eight days.

The new vacation not only allows children to connect with nature in spring and reduces students' academic burden, but also creates a window for family travel, which is expected to boost tourism and consumption.

In Sichuan, bookings for flights departing from the provincial capital Chengdu between April 1 and 6 have increased by 50% from the same period last year, according to travel platform Qunar.

Data from Chengdu East Railway Station show that it handled 336,000 passenger trips on April 1, the first day of the city's spring break, ranking first among high-speed railway stations nationwide. On the same day, children from six to 14 accounted for 52.5% and 50% of passengers on trains departing Chengdu for Guangzhou and Beijing, respectively.

Wang Jibin, a China Mobile executive in charge of data-related operations, told CMG that the cross-provincial trips accounted for 54% of total travel, up 12% from a year earlier, while intra-provincial trips made up 46% of trips.

The extended holiday has effectively expanded travel distance and encouraged longer trips, industry data indicates.

New travel patterns are also emerging, with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for trip planning gaining popularity among families, Wang added. Average daily active users of AI apps increased by 21% during the spring break period in those regions.

(With input from Xinhua)