BEIJING – China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) projected on Tuesday an 11.7-percent year-on-year increase in border entries and exits during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival break, with a daily average of 2.2 million crossings nationwide.

The peak daily passenger throughput is expected to reach 2.35 million trips, according to NIA figures.

The country's major international airports, including those in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, are expected to see a modest rise in passenger traffic during the holiday, while crossings at some land border ports in southern China are likely to experience a much sharper increase, driven by a combination of cross-border tourism, family visits and a packed schedule of dragon boat races and large-scale events across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the administration said.

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Among the busiest crossings, Shenzhen's Luohu checkpoint is expected to handle an average of 260,000 cross-border passenger trips per day, while the Gongbei port in Zhuhai is projected to process about 370,000 cross-border movements per day.

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival, is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar to commemorate Qu Yuan, a renowned patriotic poet and minister of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). Qu drowned himself in the Miluo River after he was banished and accused of treason for his well-intended advice to the king.

Legend has it that upon learning of his death, local residents took to boats on the river in search of his body, dropping rice into the water in an effort to prevent the fish from eating him.

Activities such as dragon boat races and eating Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) have been passed down as traditional customs during the festival.

This year, the festival is celebrated on June 19, and the holiday runs from June 19 to 21.