BEIJING - The number of passenger trips rose 2.5 percent year on year to 758 million in the first 10 days of the Spring Festival travel rush, official data showed.

From Jan 10 to 19, 117 million railway trips were made, up 20.3 percent from one year earlier, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The country reported 612 million road trips as well as 8.84 million trips through waterway transportation, which increased by 4.8 percent year on year.

Civil aviation sector operated 19.13 million passenger trips during the period, registering a 9.1-percent yearly growth, MOT data showed.

The week-long holiday for the Lunar New Year will begin on Jan 24, while the travel rush, also known as "chunyun," will last for 40 days from Jan 10 to Feb 18.