BEIJING -- China recorded a 5.4-percent rise in inter-regional passenger trips last year as travel activity steadily recovered, official data showed Thursday.

Nearly 64.6 billion inter-regional passenger trips were made across the country in 2024, with railways handling over 4.3 billion trips, highways nearly 59.3 billion and civil aviation 730 million, according to a report by the Ministry of Transport.

Apart from the busy passenger sector, 2024 also witnessed the handling of some 56.9 billion tonnes of commercial freight, while the postal industry delivered over 193.67 billion packages, of which 175.1 billion were handled by express delivery services, the report said.

By the end of last year, China's railway network in operation had spanned 162,000 km -- including 48,000 km of high-speed rail. Highways and inland waterways extended across about 5.5 million km and 128,700 km, respectively, while the number of civil aviation airports stood at 263.

The report also revealed that China had invested roughly 3.8 trillion yuan (about $529 billion) in transportation fixed assets in 2024, with 850.6 billion yuan going to railways and about 2.58 trillion yuan to highways.