During the New Year holiday, train tickets to ice-and-snow destinations like Harbin, Shenyang, and Changchun remain in high demand. On December 17, tickets for New Year's Eve (December 31) officially went on sale. Data from TONGCHENGTRAVEL shows that within less than half a minute, tickets for popular routes—such as Beijing to Harbin and Shenyang, Shenzhen to Xiamen, and Guangzhou to Changsha—sold out rapidly, with peak-time trains fully booked and marked as "no available tickets." Many users opted for waitlisting.

The three-day holiday has significantly boosted demand for train and flight tickets. TONGCHENGTRAVEL data reveals that search traffic for New Year travel has surged by 303% year-over-year. Based on ticket sales and advance bookings, the top 10 departure cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang, Tianjin, and Nanjing. Meanwhile, the top 10 destinations are Shanghai, Harbin, Beijing, Shenyang, Dali, Kunming, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guiyang, and Changsha.

Driven by winter tourism themes—ice-and-snow adventures and warm-weather escapes—northeastern provinces (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning), Yunnan, Guangdong, and Fujian have become popular long-distance train destinations. Harbin Ice and Snow World, a major attraction, officially opened on December 17, with expectations of a tourism boom in the northeast during the holiday. High-speed rail routes like Beijing-Harbin are particularly sought-after, with tickets to Harbin, Shenyang, and Changchun selling quickly.

Many travelers are departing three days early to extend their holidays. TONGCHENGTRAVEL reports rising demand for routes like Beijing-Changchun, Shanghai-Xi'an, and Shenzhen-Quanzhou on December 29, with some first-class seats already requiring waitlisting.

While train tickets have a 15-day advance booking window, flight reservations for New Year’s have already peaked. TONGCHENGTRAVEL data shows bookings have more than doubled year-over-year, with average ticket prices rising significantly due to high demand.

Top flight routes include Guangzhou-Harbin, Shanghai-Kunming, Beijing-Sanya, Beijing-Urumqi, Hangzhou-Guiyang, Nanjing-Changchun, Shenzhen-Chongqing, Shanghai-Haikou, Shanghai-Harbin, and Shenzhen-Beijing, reflecting strong north-south travel trends.

December 18 also marks the launch of Hainan’s island-wide customs closure as a free trade port, enhancing its appeal for winter getaways and duty-free shopping. As the first holiday post-closure, TONGCHENGTRAVEL notes a 75% surge in round-trip flight bookings to Sanya, with Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Xi'an as key departure cities.