Nearly 3 bln trips expected during China’s Spring Festival travel rush

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Close to three billion trips will be made in the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush across China this year, even more than last year, according to Zhao Chenxin, a spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China.

From January 13 to February 21, the total number of air, road and rail passengers nationwide will reach 2.978 billion, up 2.2 percent from last year, according to preliminary estimates.

Of these, the great majority - 2.52 billion - will travel by road. Another 356 million will travel by rail, up 9.7 from 2016; 58.3 million plan to fly, up 10 percent, while 43.5 million will go by ship.

Zhao Chenxin, a spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, speaks at a press conference in Beijing on January 12, 2017. / Photo via Sdpc.gov.cn

The celebrations for China’s Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, last about two weeks. But it prompts the world’s largest human migration every year as people return home to be with their families.

At a press conference on Thursday, Zhao said the pressure to ensure a smooth “Chunyun” – literally “spring movement" – this year remained high and could be higher than previous years. Apart from the large number of passengers traveling and the difficulties in coordinating passenger and important cargo transport, uncertain weather this winter may also bring challenges, he said.

Passengers queue outside the Jinan railway station in Shandong Province, east China on January 12, 2017. /CFP Photo

In the meantime, the NDRC has launched an online platform to encourage people to report illegal or uncivilized behavior during the travel rush, such as overcrowding, speeding, careless driving, ticket scalping and fare evasion. Once confirmed, the infractions could be written into people’s credit records.