As the 2026 May Day holiday (May 1 to May 5) approaches, Guangdong will see a notable increase in its travel volume. Below is a comprehensive transport guide to help you get around smoothly during the holiday.
Travel by road
From May 1 to May 5, tolls will be exempted for 7-seat and smaller passenger vehicles on national expressways, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Average daily traffic volume is projected to reach around 10.12 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of approximately 10.39%.
A "reversible lane" system will be implemented at 19 hotspots, including seven service areas, six tunnels, five road sections, and one major extra-long bridge, mostly concentrated in key expressways in northern and western Guangdong, such as Leguang, Erguang, Guanghe, and Jiangluo.
It is estimated that the province's expressways will have ten busy sections, including Shabei Interchange on the Guangzhou Ring Expressway and Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, five crowded service areas, such as Reshui and Qingxin, and ten service areas with high demand for EV charging facilities, including Yunyan and Zhongshan.
Travel by metro
Guangzhou Metro will extend service hours on certain lines. On April 30, May 1, May 4, and May 5, Lines 1, 2, 3 (including the 3 North extension), 5, 7, 8, 12 (Xunfenggang-Guangzhou Gymnasium section), and 22 will run one hour later than usual.
On May 5, Lines 2 and 7 will extend service by one hour, operating until 1:30 a.m. with one-way express trains departing from Guangzhou South Railway Station. On May 1, 2, 4, and 5, Line 18 will extend service by one hour (Wanqingsha-Xiancun), with the last train departing at 11:30 p.m.
Shenzhen Metro Line 4 will extend service by approximately 1.5 hours from April 30 to May 2, approximately 0.5 hours on May 3, and approximately 2.7 hours on May 4 and 5. Line 13 will extend service by one hour from April 30 to May 2 and on May 5.
Travel by intercity railway
A total of 148 additional trains will run on routes including Guangzhou-Huizhou, Guangzhou-Zhaoqing, Guangzhou-Qingyuan, and Guangzhou-Shenzhen. On April 29–30 and May 1, 5, and 6, Panyu Station (Guangzhou South Railway Station) will open earlier at 5:30 a.m. Train C4731 on the Guangzhou-Huizhou intercity line will depart from Panyu Station at 6:00 a.m.
Passengers can check schedules via the Guangzhou Metro app, the official Guangdong Intercity WeChat account, or the Railway 12306 app. Please always refer to the station's digital displays for the latest updates during the holiday.
Travel by bus or taxi
Guangzhou will increase bus services on routes serving major transport hubs (Guangzhou South Railway Station and Baiyun Railway Station), commercial districts, tourist attractions, and the Canton Fair Complex area. Night bus services at Guangzhou South Railway Station and Guangzhou Baiyun Railway Station will be extended to operate until 20 minutes after the last train arrives. A total of 1,700 taxis will be deployed at key hubs to ensure late-night return services.
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