China's second travel peak is underway -- as the week-long Spring Festival holiday draws to a close. Transportation authorities estimate a record number of trips this year. Yang Zhao has the details.

YANG ZHAO BEIJING "Here in Beijing, I can see the traffic is busier than yesterday. The city is getting crowded again as hundreds of thousands of people return from their week-long holiday. Highways remain toll free to deal with the huge traffic flow from outside the city. Nationwide, the railway system is under heavy pressure. More than 10 million trips were expected to be made on Tuesday, an 8-point-3 percent increase from the same day last year. China's railway authority laid on more than 900 additional trains. Many railway stations launched new services to help passengers. They included additional shuttle buses heading to stations, designated ticket sales windows for migrant workers, and more guides and helpers. Meanwhile, drivers are dealing with heavy traffic on the roads."

"We predict that about 30,000 people return to Shanghai today, and the next two days are expected to see the first round of peak passenger flows on return trips with the number of trips to reach 50,000 each day."

The number of daily passengers that major airports handle was expected to surpass two hundred thousand. Most airports have doubled shifts to improve service and maintain schedules.

"Travel peaks were seen during the past two days, with about 110,000 passengers leaving and arriving at the airport each day. Yesterday we saw a record peak with over 114,000 passengers leaving and arriving at the airport."

Travel safety is another concern. The Central Meteorological center urged passengers to be cautious as a cold wave is sweeping through the country this week. Northwest China will see heavy snow, while fog and rain will impact Southern China.