On New Year's Eve, themed activities such as gourmet festivals and countdown celebrations attracted a large number of people, according to the tourism administration.

Boundary Island in Hainan province held a bamboo-dancing activity on the beach to welcome the new year.

For safety reasons, Shanghai didn't hold any New Year countdown activities on its well-known Bund, but over 300,000 people still visited the landmark on New Year's Eve, according to the city's Jiefang Daily.

China Railway Corp estimated that about 31 million rail trips were made during the New Year holiday travel rush, an increase of 16 percent compared with last year.

The company added 598 trains to help people get to their destinations during the break.