According to the Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission, in 2020 the province's transport sector made every effort to safeguard the "lifeline" of COVID-19 prevention and control and served as the "vanguard" for resuming work and production. Transport investment remained robust throughout the year, and passenger and freight transport and other fields continued a steady recovery.

In 2020, to counter the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qinghai formulated and implemented a series of policies to cut taxes and fees and reduce rents and interest for transport enterprises, effectively easing their operating difficulties. The Provincial Development and Reform Commission coordinated with the provincial finance department to allocate 40 million yuan of special funds for railway transport development and 180 million yuan of special funds for civil aviation transport development, promoting the steady recovery of passenger and freight transport and the express logistics industry in Qinghai. Highway, railway and civil aviation investment in fixed assets totaled 26.411 billion yuan for the year, up 12.4% year on year. Of this, highway construction investment reached 23.034 billion yuan, up 13.1%; railway investment reached 2.597 billion yuan, up 5.8%; and civil aviation investment reached 780 million yuan, up 13.0%.

On this basis, highways, railways and civil aviation in Qinghai carried a total of 47.5143 million commercial passenger trips, recovering to nearly 70% of the level in the same period of the previous year. In highway passenger transport, the "road passenger transport + internet" service model emerged, and customized road passenger transport services became a new growth point. In railway passenger transport, the resumption of operations on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang high-speed railway and the completion and opening of the Golmud-Dunhuang and Golmud-Korla railways provided residents with transport services at various speed levels and spatial scales. In civil aviation passenger transport, Qinghai's civil aviation industry posted outstanding results: the province's seven commercial airports handled a total of 6.7479 million passenger trips, recovering to 83% of the level in the same period of the previous year, far above the national average of 63%. Civil aviation's share of passenger transport rose from 11% in 2019 to 14%, and aviation's status and role in residents' travel gradually strengthened.

Highways, railways and civil aviation in Qinghai completed 142.9449 million tons of commercial freight volume, recovering to 96% of the level in the same period of the previous year. Among this, highway freight accounted for 75.8% of total freight volume and remains the main mode of goods transport in the province. Railway freight reached 34.5524 million tons, with freight turnover of 29.010 billion ton-kilometers, achieving growth of 7.21% and 6.87% respectively despite the pandemic and exceeding the annual targets. Civil aviation freight handled a total of 46,300 tons of cargo and mail, recovering to 98% of the level in the same period of the previous year, above the national average of 89%, effectively helping Qinghai's distinctive agricultural and livestock products reach markets across the country.

Notably, the postal industry traced a "V"-shaped curve, with a strong recovery momentum. The province's postal industry revenue totaled 1.290 billion yuan, with average monthly growth of 21.23%, while total postal industry business volume reached 959 million yuan, with average monthly growth of 17.79%, both achieving double-digit growth. This was due to Qinghai's active implementation and introduction of preferential policies such as toll-free road passage and cuts in taxes, fees, rents and interest rates; the acceleration of industrial digital transformation and the rapid development of e-commerce, which drove a rapid boost in the postal industry; and the gradual activation of the rural online consumer market, with the continuous improvement of rural logistics distribution systems and logistics infrastructure and the vigorous development of rural e-commerce, effectively solving the "first kilometer" problem of bringing Qinghai's distinctive high-quality agricultural products into cities and the "last kilometer" problem of delivering industrial goods to rural areas.