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Hundreds of millions of people in China are marking this year's National Day holiday with gatherings and quick getaways.

National Day, which marks the founding of the People's Republic of China, coincides with this year's Mid Autumn Festival.

It is estimated that 550 million people will travel domestically during the eight-day holiday referred to as "Golden Week". It's thought that 13 million passenger trips were made on Thursday - the highest figure since February, .

The coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. China appears to have largely stopped the spread of the virus, and most restrictions have been lifted.

Images from China are worlds apart from a nation that was under lockdown earlier this year.

China's Railway Service estimates there will be 108 million trips during the eight-day holiday.

Despite huge passenger numbers on Thursday, the figure is still less than the 17 million trips made on the same day last year.

In the capital, some people used the opportunity to attend the flag-raising ceremony on the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Others used the opportunity to visit tourist spots.

Travel service Qunar told Reuters news agency that economy flights to some tourist areas in China such as the southwestern city of Lijiang had sold out.

China's aviation authority estimates that bookings for domestic flights have increased by 10.5% on last year.

Last year seven million people travelled abroad to destinations such as Thailand but with restrictions in place across the world, many countries are out of bounds for travellers.

In anticipation of huge crowds at China's tourist spots, the Chinese government has instructed all sites to restrict their admissions to 75% of their usual capacity.

China claims it has recorded 90,545 cases and 4,739 deaths since the outbreak began.

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