Chinese authorities expect 2.98 billion trips to be made in the national Spring Festival travel rush over the next 40 days. 

At a press conference, officials from seven government departments talked about measures being put in place to ensure trips across the country go smoothly. 

Traveling around China during Spring Festival is never easy. Just like last year, millions are expected to crisscross the country during the holiday. Officials said the nation's transport networks are now more capable of handling the volume, but challenges remain.

Lian Weiliang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said there will be enormous pressure after the Festival. 

“Because of the late festival date this year, there will be overlapping passenger flows of family visitors, tourists, students, and migrant workers. We estimate the maximum daily peak will be 100 million journeys. Road traffic will be under pressure. Last year, there was a 14-percent year-on-year growth in private cars on highways. It will be more challenging to secure smooth and safe road traffic," he said. 

There were 217 million motor vehicles in China at the end of last year. Four out of five were privately owned. But authorities said that for the first time, there will be fewer road trips this year, by about 1.6 percent. This is because people are choosing mass transport like trains or flights. 

The government has also worked on making tickets easier to get, particularly for trains.

“We've added high-speed overnight trains. We're making full use of new railways. But railways can't fully meet passenger demand, and can only allow 390 million of the total 2.98 billion trips expected this year,” said Li Wenxin, deputy general manager of China Railway Corporation. 

On official railway tickets website www.12306.cn, a third more tickets will be on sale than usual, up from 100 million tickets per day to 150 million. 

Special privileges will be given to students, soldiers and migrant workers, and people living in poverty-stricken areas. 

Rail managers have also added trains for the travel rush, allowing 1.5 million more trips every day than usual. This year, people are expected to make 8.8 percent more trips on trains, and 10 percent more on planes.