BEIJING: China's vast railway has experienced its busiest day of the year as millions of people returned to work or went home after the Lunar New Year holiday, state press said Sunday.

The 6.28 million passenger trips on Saturday was up on the same period last year, the Beijing Evening News reported.

Over six million train journeys will be taken daily as part of the world's largest annual human migration in the coming days with revellers returning to work following family reunions and visits home, the newspaper reported.

A total of around 210 million passengers are expected to take to the railway during the new year travel period, which ends on March 10. Nearly 30 million more will have travelled by air.

According to the Ministry of Transport, 64.15 million people travelled in China on Saturday, with most making voyages on the nation's crowded long-distance buses.

In a circular posted on its website, the ministry urged stepped up travel safety precautions during the period.

China's buses usually bear the brunt of the annual travel burden, taking travellers to rail and air hubs from rural towns and villages across the nation.

Last year a record 2.3 billion passenger trips were made on various modes of transport throughout the nation during the Lunar New Year period, reports at the time said.