Travel rush surges as Chinese go home for Spring Festival

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Chinese authorities have forecast a peak travel rush in the second week of China's 40-day holiday season, Chunyun, as many Chinese people are returning home for the Spring Festival.

More trips will be made in the second week of Chunyun from January 20 to 26, with the daily average likely to exceed 80 million trips, the Ministry of Transport said Friday.

Passengers await to get home in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, January 20, 2017. /CFP Photo

Chinese people made 520 million trips in the week ending Thursday, the first week of travel around the Spring Festival, which was up 3.1 percent year-on-year, according to ministry.

Migrant workers carry their pet with them in a motorcycle ride in Fujian Province, January 18, 2017. /China News Service Photo

About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival travel rush between January 13 and February 21, slightly up from a year ago, the National Development and Reform Commission said last week.

Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important occasion for family reunions. It falls on January 28 this year. Chinese people will enjoy a week-long holiday starting January 27.

Spring Festival light decorations in Shanghai's Yu Garden, January 20, 2017. /CFP Photo

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 Corp. archives.

(Source: Xinhua)