BEIJING, Oct. 5 -- China's road and waterway passenger trips logged strong expansion in the first eight months of this year, official data showed.

The country's road transport network handled about 2.97 billion passenger trips during the period, up 19.7 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

A total of 184.14 million passenger trips were made via China's waterways in the same period, skyrocketing 123.3 percent over one year earlier.

In August alone, passenger trips made via China's roads and waterways stood at 416.25 million and 35.93 million, respectively, the data also revealed.