Spring Festival Travel Rush: 9 billion domestic trips expected as 40-day rush period begins
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With just over two weeks to go before the Chinese New Year, the country's Spring Festival travel rush has kicked off today and runs until February 22nd. A record high passenger trips are expected during the 40-day period. CGTN reporter Dai Kaiyi has more.

The busiest travel season in China begins as most people returning to their hometowns for annual family reunions. With railways, planes and self-driving road trips combined, authorities are expecting as many as 9 billion trips over the next 40 days.

DAI KAIYI Beijing "I'm here at Beijing South Railway Station. It took me a bit longer than usual to get inside due to the higher number of passengers compared to a regular day. Tickets for Chinese New Year's Eve go on sale today, making it even busier. Railway authorities estimate some 10.3 million trips nationwide today alone, but the real peak is expected next weekend."

"I'm heading back to Weifang, and I'm so excited. Going home is always a wonderful feeling – I've been looking forward to it every single day."

"We're going back to Shandong. This trip was a short getaway before the New Year. Beijing has been amazing, but now it's time to head home and relax before the celebrations. The station is packed with people."

"I work in Beijing, but today I'm heading to Zibo, Shandong, to visit my daughter. I'm feeling very happy and excited."

This year's Spring Festival travel rush is the first since the introduction of the eight-day holiday, the easing of transit visa rules, and the Spring Festival being recognized as part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.

The country is seeing the overlapping traffic from students, migrant workers, and families heading home. After the holiday, things are expected to ease up.

ZHANG XIAO, Party Branch Secretary, Passenger Transport Department, Beijing South Railway Station "At Beijing South Railway Station, we're expecting to handle around 6.2 million passengers during the Spring Festival travel period, averaging 151,000 trips a day. To keep up with demand, we've analyzed passenger trends and adjusted our capacity accordingly. We've introduced a 'daily schedule adjustment' system, running about 257.5 trains each day. This allows us to do everything we can to meet travelers' needs during this busy season."

Authorities say self-driving road trips are expected to make up about 80% of trips this year. A record 510 million train trips are expected during the coming 40-day period, up 5.5% year-on-year. China's Civil Aviation Administration is expecting an estimated 90 million plane trips during this year's travel rush, also a record high. Dai Kaiyi, CGTN, Beijing.