During the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, waterborne passenger trips on the Hunan section of the Yangtze River Grand Canal totaled 96,000.

During the 40-day Spring Festival in 2026, the waterway passenger transport in the Hunan section of the Yangtze River showed a strong growth trend. According to statistics, the total number of passengers sent reached 96000, an increase of 11.6 percent over the same period last year, and the volume of vehicle transit also reached more than 39000, an increase of 19.8 percent over the same period last year. This growth not only reflects the improvement of regional economic and social vitality and the increasingly close personnel exchanges, but also highlights the irreplaceable role of water transportation in the comprehensive transportation system. In order to ensure the safety and smoothness of the Spring Festival transportation, Yueyang Maritime Safety Administration, as the main supervision and service unit, has taken a series of effective measures: first, to strengthen safety supervision and carry out full coverage safety inspection on passenger (ferry) ships in operation; second, to improve the efficiency of navigation security, make full use of VTS, CCTV video monitoring and other information means, strengthen the traffic organization of key waters and time periods, and timely release navigation information through VHF and intelligent management platform; the third is to actively carry out on-site services, including ferry garrison, ship inspection, maintenance of boat order, and provide assistance and heart-warming volunteer services for key passengers such as the old, the young, the sick, the disabled, and the pregnant, so as to fully escort the safe, orderly, convenient and smooth travel on the water during the Spring Festival.