China's railways and roads underwent the first travel peak after the Lunar New Year festival, with larger passenger flows than the same period last year.

The railways carried more than 5 million travelers each day from Jan. 31 to Friday, a record high in both duration and passenger number, said the Ministry of Railways (MOR) spokesman Wang Yongping on Saturday.

Altogether 5.02 million took trains on Friday, increasing 170,000 year-on-year, MOR figures show.

Wang predicted lighter traffic on Saturday and Sunday and a second peak after Monday, when the Lantern Festival falls and wraps up the Chinese New Year celebration.