The Ministry of Railways estimated that passenger volumes during the Tomb-sweeping festival between 3 and 6 April jumped by 40 per cent to 21.6m compared with normal days, and up 12 per cent over the same period last year.

In Shanghai, passengers taking coaches to nearby cities such as Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nantong and Yangzhou rose by 45 per cent year-on-year on 4 April alone, reaching 35,000.

However, according to reports, the general economic uncertainty might have impacted the behaviour of tomb sweepers. Of the 540,000 visitors on 4 April in Suzhou, one of the most popular destinations for ancestry tombs, very few stayed overnight as is normally the case. Local hotels expressed disappointment despite issuing nearly 40,000 discount vouchers to lure visitors.