BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 212 million passenger trips were made from Jan. 10 to 12, the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush, said China's Ministry of Transport Monday.

The number increased by 3.7 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

A total of 71.37 million passenger trips were made Sunday, the third day of the travel rush, including train trips, road trips, air passenger trips and waterway trips, a 3.2-percent increase from the previous year.

The Spring Festival travel rush, also known as "chunyun," lasts for 40 days from Jan. 10 to Feb. 18, and the total number of trips is likely to hit 3 billion during the period, slightly up from the travel rush last year.