A record 9 bln trips expected as China starts world's busiest travel season

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(Xinhua) 09:02, January 27, 2024

*China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, with record-breaking journey numbers expected.

*Public transport operators around the country have hunkered down for the upcoming challenges brought by the annual transport peak.

*With the record-high migration unfolding, this year's Spring Festival holiday is set to experience not only a stunning number of people flow, but also a vibrant consumption revival boosted by the prosperous tourism market.

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with record-breaking journey numbers expected.

An estimated 9 billion passenger trips are likely to be made during the 2024 travel rush period, according to the country's transport ministry.

Of the total, 7.2 billion trips or about 80 percent will be made by self-driving, while 1.8 billion trips will be made via railways, highways, waterways, and civil aviation, the ministry said.

China's railway operator on Friday said the country's railways are expected to handle 480 million passenger trips during this travel season, with an average of 12 million trips daily, an increase of 37.9 percent compared with the previous year. About 10.6 million train trips are expected to be made on Friday, the first day of the travel rush.

The 40-day travel surge, also known as "chunyun," will see hundreds of millions of people return home and reunite with their families and friends.

As a leading indicator of festivities, China's railway system saw a surge in ticket sales, with about 230 million tickets have been sold since Jan. 12, a notable year-on-year increase.

With the record-high migration unfolding, this year's Spring Festival holiday is set to experience not only a stunning number of people flow, but also a vibrant consumption revival boosted by the prosperous tourism market, adding new steam to the country's economic recovery.

A stitched panoramic aerial photo shows bullet trains at a maintenance base in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)

TRANSIT IN HIGH GEAR

At 5:34 a.m. on Friday, a high-speed rail journey set off from Beijing West Railway Station, initiating a bustling traffic period during the 40-day festival season in the capital city.

"The normal flow of people is back," said a railway station staff, who was busy checking tickets.

According to the China Railway Beijing Group Co., Ltd., the company is expected to handle 39.13 million passenger trips during the Spring Festival travel rush, an increase of 14.1 percent compared to 2019.

Public transport operators around the country have hunkered down for the upcoming challenges brought by the annual homecoming in epic proportions.

Railway operators decided to arrange 12,700 trains per day leading up to the festival on Feb. 10, and 12,800 trains thereafter. The railway network will be able to handle 14.4 percent more passengers before the festival and 12.6 percent more after the festival compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

The country's airlines planned to add over 2,500 flights during the 40-day period, taking into consideration the likely demand for international trips to popular destinations in Southeast Asia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and other neighboring regions, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Haikou Meilan International Airport is gearing up for increased activity. According to airport authorities, the airport is expected to handle around 24,708 flights, up 19.1 percent year on year. These flights are projected to serve around 3.63 million passengers, up 17.5 percent over the same period last year.

Sanya, Hainan's sought-after tropical destination, expects bustling aviation and tourism activities during the upcoming festival. The Sanya Phoenix International Airport, a key hub in the tropical city, plans to operate 14,700 flights, facilitating the transportation of around 2.86 million passengers.

Passengers queue up to check in at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

COZIER, SAFER JOURNEY HOME

For Jiang Yixiu, a 52-year-old migrant worker who works in Bijie, a city of southwest China's Guizhou Province, this year's chunyun is unforgettable thanks to the advent of a new high-speed railway linking Jiang's workplace and his hometown Libo county.

It used to take Jiang more than five hours to return home. Thanks to the high-speed railway, his travel time would be shortened by one hour and travel expense would be cut by one third.