This year's Spring Festival travel rush, known as "Chunyun" began on Thursday. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are expected to return to their hometowns or travel around the country.

On Thursday alone, about 8 million trips were taken by train. To enhance railway transport capability, an additional 12-hundred train services will be scheduled before the festival, and 13-hundred for afterwards. Meanwhile, airlines are also feeling the festival travel pressure. Airports in Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guangzhou were hit by the first peak wave. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport had scheduled 977 flights, 31 more than last year. Departing passengers hit around 75-thousand. Aviation authorities plan to schedule an additional 30-thousand flights during the travel rush nationwide-- about 14-thousand-500 flights every day.

Authorities say nearly 3 billion trips are expected to be made during the travel rush, the same as last year. There are, however, some changes in the traffic patterns. The number of road trips is projected to decrease by 1.6 percent from last year. This is the first time we'll be seeing negative growth. Meanwhile, people are expected to make 8.8 percent more trips on trains, and 10 percent more on planes. Authorities are taking efforts to ensure a smooth travel rush. The aviation authority plans to schedule an additional 30 thousand flights during the period.