Lunar New Year, Spring Festival travel rush begins

China officially showed in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Lunar New Year.  An estimated nine billion passenger trips are likely to be made during the 2024 travel rush period nearly double that of the same period in 2023, according to the country’s Transport Ministry.

China’s railway operator said the country’s railways are expected to handle 480 million passenger trips during this 40-day travel season, with a daily average of 12 million. Trains, planes, coaches and boats bound for 10 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, are busier than those heading to other cities.

This year’s Lunar New Year holiday runs from February 10 to 17, one day longer than in previous years. The extended holiday will put even more pressure on the nation’s transport system.