China railways brace for post-holiday travel rush

2017-02-03
Xinhua

Passengers have their tickets checked at the Shijiazhuang railway station in Shijiazhuang, north China’s Hebei province, Feb 2, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Some 11.5 million trips, a year-on-year increase of 11.3 percent, will be made on the country’s railways with travelers returning to work as the weeklong Lunar New Year celebration draws to a close, according to China Railway.

Passengers have their tickets checked at the Harbin Railway Station in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb 2, 2017.[Photo/Xinhua]

About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival travel rush between Jan 13 and Feb 21, slightly up from a year ago, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Spring Festival is the most important occasion for family reunions and fell on Jan 28 this year. Chinese people enjoyed a weeklong holiday starting Jan 27.

Chunyun, literally meaning “spring transport,” was first coined as a phrase by the media in 1954 to describe heavy traffic around Spring Festival, according to China Railway archives.