China's railway network began its May Day holiday travel rush on Wednesday, with 158 million passenger trips expected from Wednesday to May 6, according to the China State Railway Group.

About 12,000 passenger trains will operate each day during the eight-day travel rush period. Passenger flow is expected to peak on Friday, with around 24 million trips forecasted.

As of 8 am on Wednesday, 83.02 million tickets for the holiday period had been sold through the official 12306 railway ticketing system.

The May Day holiday will run from Friday to May 5.

To meet demand, railway authorities will run peak schedules, add services on busy routes, and use 12306 ticketing data to adjust capacity in real time. An average of 156 additional cross-regional passenger trains will be arranged daily, while about 700 extra overnight high-speed trains will run on peak nights along major routes, including the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou, and Beijing-Harbin lines.

Tourism train services will be expanded, including the debut of a fairyland-seeking train from Shangrao in Jiangxi province on Friday and the continued operation of themed trains such as the New Orient Express, the Starlight Lancang-Mekong train, and the Panda Train Shifang service. Cross-border passenger trains will also serve holiday travelers.

Passenger services such as waitlist ticketing, online berth selection, same-station transfers, online meal ordering, pet travel, luggage delivery, and quiet carriages will be enhanced.