With Spring Festival less than a week away, China’s transportation industry gears up for the largest migration of people in the world, which estimates say, will surpass the daily 100-million-passenger mark through the end of the week.
Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar New Year, set for Jan. 31, is China’s most important traditional holiday. It is that time of year when everyone is expected to return home no matter how far away the are. The 40-day period before and after the holiday where the most people will be traveling to and from home has come to be known as “Chunyun” or Spring Festival travel season.
Despite the expected number of travelers, Ministry of Transportation officials are confident that the transportation system will be able to handle the load during the annual “Chunyun.” As a precaution, however, Ministry officials have instructed local transport authorities to make sure there are enough vehicles to handle any unexpected surges in passenger numbers.
Chinese travelers are expected to use every form of transportation on its roads, rivers and skies. According to figures released by the Ministry of Transportation, there are 860,000 buses currently on the road transporting passengers. Over the past weekend, more than 5,000 trains and more than 14,000 flights were recorded in transit. On Sunday, Shanghai’s Hongqiao Railway Station alone is reported to have handled 165,000 passengers.
In addition to helping passengers get to their destinations on time, Ministry officials also made it clear that safety is a priority. Sources say that local authorities have been required, during Chunyan, to step up their security and supervision of "transportation companies, bus stations and ports."