BEIJING -- More than 304 million inter-regional passenger trips were made across China on Friday, the fourth day of this year's Spring Festival holiday, as the most celebrated holiday in the country featured many family visits and served as a boost for tourism, official data showed Saturday.

It was the first time in this year's Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, that the number of daily inter-regional trips had exceeded 300 million, according to a special work team established to facilitate sound operations during chunyun.

Trips by road increased by 6.9 percent year on year to reach 288.44 million on Friday, while journeys by rail and air rose 5.3 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

A record-breaking 9 billion trips are expected to be made during chunyun in 2025, with this annual travel surge running from Jan 14 to Feb 22. Spring Festival, an occasion for family reunions, fell on Jan 29 this year.

Road trips, including many in new energy vehicles (NEVs), are expected to account for about 80 percent of all inter-regional trips -- as a variety of charging options on China's highways make it easier than ever for NEVs to hit the road.

Notably, railway authorities across various regions have increased capacity on popular travel routes and enhanced station and train services to better meet passenger demands during chunyun, said China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.