BEIJING -- Some 204.39 million inter-regional trips were made in China on Tuesday, the Chinese New Year's Eve, according to official statistics.

Of the total, 194.18 million trips were taken by road, 7.76 million by rail, 1.86 million by air and 587,000 on water, according to a special work team established to facilitate the sound operations of this year's Spring Festival travel rush.

Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China and an occasion for family reunions. It falls on Jan 29 this year.

Chinese authorities expect an unprecedented 9 billion inter-regional trips during this year's Spring Festival travel period, which began on Jan 14 and will continue to Feb 22. The figure is forecast to rise by 7 percent from the peak travel season of the last year's Spring Festival.

Around 197.02 million inter-regional trips are expected in China on Wednesday, according to the work team.