Spring Festival travel rush kicks off with record-breaking trips expected
Updated: January 27, 2024 09:32Xinhua
Passengers are seen at Hohhot Railway Station in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 26, 2024. China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with record-breaking journey numbers expected. An estimated 9 billion passenger trips are likely to be made during the 2024 travel rush period, according to the country's transport ministry. Of the total, 7.2 billion trips or about 80 percent will be made by self-driving, while 1.8 billion trips will be made via railways, highways, waterways, and civil aviation, the ministry said. China's railway operator on Friday said the country's railways are expected to handle 480 million passengers during this travel season, with an average of 12 million trips daily, an increase of 37.9 percent compared with the previous year. About 10.6 million train trips are expected to be made on Friday, the first day of the travel rush. [Photo/Xinhua]
Tourists watch a performance at Changchun Railway Station in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
A policeman helps a child heading for destinations in China's northeast provinces at Nanning Railway Station in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Passengers pose for photos in hanfu, a type of traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group, at Xuzhou East Railway Station in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
This photo taken on Jan. 26, 2024 shows the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in east China's Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
Passengers on train No.K4177 wait for departure at Shanghai South Railway Station in east China's Shanghai, late on Jan. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
A young volunteer helps a tourist at Xuzhou East Railway Station in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
A train pulls into the Hohhot Railway Station in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Passengers check in at Tianjin Binhai International Airport in north China's Tianjin, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
A staff member helps a tourist at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Passengers wait to board their trains at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Children have fun at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
