Traffic jams and overcrowded sites leave many feeling they hit a dead end during the holiday.
From Saturday afternoon roads and expressways leading to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan, began to see heavy traffic.
As China comes down from a massive travel rush during the holiday, experts called for a resumption of the Labor Day Golden Week holiday as a way to ease the travel peak.
China's transport networks are expected to experience another travel peak Saturday and Sunday, when millions of holiday-makers return as the week-long holiday draws to an end.
The extended national holidays and a decision to waive highway tolls have brought many tourist attractions to a virtual standstill since the beginning of the eight-day vacation.
The Ministry of Transport allows small passenger vehicles to directly pass expressway toll stations starting Thursday noon, to prevent jams.
China's railways carried a record high of 9.14 million passengers on the first day of the eight-day holiday, the country's Ministry of Railways announced on Tuesday.
Heavy traffic on main expressways has ignited criticism about the government's decision to abandon the use of tolls during the "Golden Week" holiday.
Police across China have been mobilized to cope with huge traffic flows along expressways during the eight-day national holiday, said Ministry of Public Security.
A new policy to scrap highway toll fees during major holidays boosted the number of domestic tourists and saved money - although not everyone is convinced.
Gridlock as tolls are waived
I decided to drive with my husband to Hunan province to see my son, who studies in the provincial capital Changsha. My husband and I will first visit Fenghuang county, pick up my son in Changsha and then travel to Wulingyuan Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie. All of us are excited about the trip as we have never taken this route before.
Huge traffic jams occurred on many of China's highways on Sunday, the first day that exempts drivers of most cars from paying tolls nationwide.
Freedom of road
The number of travelers taking to China's highways totaled 85 million by 4 pm on Sunday, the first day of the eight-day national holiday.
Traffic snarled at major expressway toll gates across China before dawn on Sunday, as governments started to pilot a new policy to lift road tolls for passenger cars taking highways from midnight.
For the first time in decades, Chinese drivers will enjoy a toll-free journey home during the upcoming eight-day holiday, which begins on Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Railways, railways are expected to transport 75.4 million passengers in 11 days beginning Sept 27.
Will the lifting of toll fees for passenger vehicles during the National Day holiday really be a policy that pleases the majority of holidaymakers as intended?
China's municipalities and most of its provinces have rolled out their own versions of the toll-free plan required by the Ministry of Transport for the upcoming eight-day holiday.
Beijing's transport authority has warned commuters to expect even more gridlock in the coming days, as millions hit the road, heading both into and out of the capital, for the holidays.