On September 28, the Xinjiang Road Network WeChat public account released the 2026 National Day highway travel service guide. During the holiday period, toll roads across Xinjiang will waive fees for small passenger vehicles with seven seats or fewer (including seven seats).

The 2026 National Day holiday runs from October 1 (Thursday) to October 7 (Wednesday), with adjusted rest days totaling seven days. The free passage period for toll roads across the region is from 00:00 on October 1 to 24:00 on October 7. For closed toll roads, the time is based on when the vehicle exits the toll lane at the exit; for open toll roads, the time is based on when the vehicle passes through the toll lane at the toll station.

It should be noted that for small passenger vehicles with seven seats or fewer (including seven seats), regardless of when they enter a closed toll road, as long as they exit the toll lane at the exit within the free passage period, they can enjoy the free passage policy. For small passenger vehicles still traveling on toll roads as the free period is about to end, it is recommended to exit early at the nearest toll station to maximize the benefit of the free policy.

According to forecasts, driven by the seven-day long holiday and the free passage policy for small passenger vehicles, combined with the continuously rising popularity of autumn travel in Xinjiang, the public's willingness to visit relatives and friends and to take medium- and long-distance self-driving trips across prefectures and cities will be released in a concentrated manner, and small passenger vehicles will become the core driving force behind the growth in road network traffic. It is expected that road network traffic across Xinjiang will increase significantly compared with ordinary days, showing an overall pattern of "pre-holiday warming up, first-day surge, high levels in the middle, and concentrated return traffic." Traffic flow at entrances and exits of prefectures and cities, expressways, and sections around key scenic spots will increase notably, with obvious concentration of traffic at the beginning and end of the holiday.

Among them, traffic on popular tourist routes such as the G681 Ahe Highway, the G0711 Wuyi Expressway, and the G30 Saiguo section will continue to rise, with passenger flow on roads around scenic spots and along tourism routes increasing substantially. The tidal characteristics of traffic flow will be obvious, and the peak of outbound traffic on the first day of the holiday and the return peak at the end of the holiday will be prominent. Congestion and slow traffic are likely to occur at expressway entrances and exits, hub interchanges, service areas, and other points, while traffic around cities such as Kuitun, Bole, Ili, Altay, Korla, and Kashgar will continue to operate at high levels. Overall, the operation will show active cross-prefecture and cross-city travel within Xinjiang and concentrated traffic flows between prefectures and cities.