BEIJING - China started the Spring Festival peak travel season Sunday, with tens of millions of passengers, mainly migrant workers and college students, on the move in the world's largest seasonal migration.
The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on January 23 this year. It is the most important traditional Chinese festival for family reunions.
A total of 3.16 billion passenger trips are expected during the 40-day peak travel season, or Chunyun (Spring transportation) in Chinese, up 9.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
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People rush to board a train at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, Southwest China, Jan 7, 2012. China's Spring Festival travel rush starts on Jan 8, and is expected to go until Feb 16. [Photo/Xinhua]
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Passengers wait in lines to board their train at a railway station in Hefei, Anhui province January 6, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]
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