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BEIJING – Train travel in China has hit an eight-year trough and an epidemic low during the normally busy summer season, according to official data, as fresh outbreaks of the virus have curbed activity and hit tourist confidence.
About 440 million passenger trips were taken on China’s railways between July 1 and August 31, the lowest since 2014, according to data from China Railway.
In the year That’s down 4.8 percent from the 462 million trips seen in the same period in 2021 and 3.5 percent down from the 456 million trips seen in 2020, the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Summer is one of China’s busiest transportation seasons, as families and college students travel to scenic spots and return home from schools. But in recent months, several cities have put in place travel plans due to the resurgence of the virus.
The resort city of Sanya in southern China went into lockdown in early August to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, restricting transport links as about 80,000 visitors enjoyed the beach during peak season.
According to Capital Economics, 41 cities, which account for 32 percent of China’s gross domestic product, were among the epicenters of the outbreak on Wednesday, the highest since April when the lockdowns hit the economy hard.
Major southern cities Guangzhou and Shenzhen tightened COVID restrictions on Wednesday. The two cities together account for 5.89 trillion yuan ($853.31 billion), roughly half of South Korea’s gross domestic product.
China braked sharply in the second quarter due to widespread Covid-19 lockdowns. Emerging data suggests that the recovery that has just begun in the third quarter is at risk of stalling due to a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 and a weak outlook for the property sector.
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