Full coverage: Dragon Boat Festival

China's railway system is always busy during the holidays. The China Railway Corporation says about 40 million people are expected to take trains from Wednesday through Saturday. That would be an increase of more than 10 percent from a year ago.

The ridership peak will be today (Thursday), the start of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival. Ticket sales indicate most travellers will go to such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan to enjoy their holidays.

Passengers prepare to board a train at the railway station in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, June 8, 2016. The number of passengers in Yinchuan railway station increased on Wednesday, one day before the 3-day holiday of the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)