BEIJING — This year's Spring Festival peak travel period in China is expected to have 1.05 billion passenger trips, official data showed on Feb 24.

That is 20.7 percent higher than the 2021 figure, the Ministry of Transport said.

The number of railway and road trips made during the period will respectively hit 250 million and 750 million, and waterway and air passenger trips will reach 16.3 million and 39.2 million.

"This year's Spring Festival travel rush is proceeding in an orderly manner with relatively low passenger flows, with the number of tourists decreasing because of the COVID-19 pandemic," said ministry official Shu Chi.

The Spring Festival peak travel period in 2022 spans from Jan 17 to Feb 25. During the 40-day travel season, also known as Chunyun, many Chinese people travel to reunite with their families for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was celebrated on Feb 1 this year.