BEIJING - China's rail freight transport volume, an indicator of broad economic activity, rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year, a sign of recovery from the COVID-19 shock, official data showed Saturday.

The country's state-operated railways carried 1.69 billion tonnes of cargo in the first six months, the China State Railway Group Co, Ltd said.

During the January-June period, revenues from the rail freight transport dipped 4.2 percent from the previous year to 187.7 billion yuan ($26.9 billion).

In June alone, the average daily rail freight volume exceeded 10 million tons, the highest daily average level in a month since the beginning of this year, the company said.

State-operated railways handle the majority of the country's rail freight traffic. Apart from state-operated railways, China also has rail lines operated by local governments and enterprises.