Published: 18:19, May 5, 2026
Homecoming of millions
By Wang Zhan in Hong Kong
The departure hall of a Guangzhou South Railway Station is packed with travelers on May 5, 2026, as millions make their way home after the five-day May Day holiday break. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

Guangzhou’s railway network saw a massive wave of travelers returning home on Tuesday, the final day of the five-day May Day Golden Week holidays, with the Guangzhou railway authorities expecting 3.042 million passenger trips made for the day, up 12,000, or 0.4 percent, from Monday.

Passenger arrival and waiting halls were packed to the hilt at Guangzhou South Railway Station – Guangdong province’s busiest high-speed rail station – as holidaymakers from across the region made their way back to, or out of the provincial capital. The flow was marked by a clear trend of travelers streaming back to major urban centers from smaller cities.

Guangzhou South Station was the scene of massive passenger flows at the arrivals hall and waiting areas throughout the day. To manage the high volume of travelers, the railway authorities added late-night high-speed train services, while Metro Lines 2 and 7 extended their operating hours until 1:30 am, and ran express services to alleviate congestion.

China Railway Guangzhou Group operated an extra 707 trains on Tuesday, including 592 high-speed rail and 115 conventional trains on routes linking Guangzhou and Shenzhen with cities and towns across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond.

China Daily's Parker Zheng took the photos on Tuesday in Guangzhou.

Holidaymakers pass through automated ticket gates at Guangzhou South Railway Station on May 5, 2026. The station was among the busiest hubs in the country on the final day of the May Day “Golden Week”. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
Passengers wait in a crowded departure hall late into the night on May 5, 2026, as overnight high-speed railway trains carry the last wave of May Day travelers out of Guangzhou. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)