Villagers shop at a bazaar in Xinrong Village of Helan County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Jan. 20, 2014. Residents of some immigrant villages in Ningxia started purchasing food and articles for the upcoming Spring Festival at their new home. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)
Tourists pose for photos by the side of Yamzho Yumco Lake in Shannan Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Jan. 19, 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)
Kevin (2nd R), a foreign teacher from the United States, learns writing Chinese character fu, which means happiness, with brush pen at a community in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 20, 2014. A total of 50 some children and their foreign teacher Kevin celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival through various folk activities on Monday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Students of the Beileng Village Primary School demonstrate equine-themed Chinese paper cuttings, which were made to mark the upcoming Year of the Horse, in Wenxian County, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 20, 2014. A traditional art form that dates back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), paper cutting remains popular in modern China, especially around the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 31 this year. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)
A family looks through the window of the train. The photo was taken by Deng Bo in the Spring Festival Rush in 2002. (Copyrighted picture/ Reprint is prohibited)
A villager settles the newly made red lanterns at the Xubeizhang Village in Wenxian County, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 20, 2014, to prepare for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on Jan. 31 this year. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)
Carter, a two-year-old male sniffer dog, plays with his trainer before going on duty at Xi'chang Railway Station in Xi'chang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 20, 2014. 2014 is the first year for Carter to take part in the anti-drug mission of the Spring Festival travel peak period. Every afternoon and night he and the other dogs would be on duty at the railway station. Thanks to their efforts, two drug cases have been detected since the beginning of the travel peak. (Xinhua/Wang Xiaodan)
Migrant workers from east China's Jiangxi Province start their homebound motorcycle journey, Jan. 19, 2014. Many migrant workers in the province choose motorcycle as the means of transport when they return to their hometowns for family reunion during the Spring Festival. (Source: Chinanews.com/Hu Dunhuang)
Local people make "Ciba", a special glutinous rice cake for Chinese Spring Festival, during a folk culture show in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan province, Jan. 18, 2014. (Xinhua/Zhao Ying)
A man shows a fresh carp weighing 9.85 kg during a fishing festival at the Longting Lake, Kaifeng, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 18, 2014. The winter catch held on Saturday attracted many citizens and tourists who braved the cold and purchased fish they selected. (Xinhua/Wang Song)
Passenger Liu Yongsheng carrying bags walks outside the Shanghai Railway Station, east China's Shanghai, Jan. 18, 2014. A long-distance-journey on train can't discourage people's longing for reunion with family members during the Chinese Lunar New Year. They tried all means to get a ticket heading back for hometown ahead of the festival. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)
Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2012 shows a combination of lanterns with the Chinese character "fu" on it during a lantern festival in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. The Chinese Character "fu",which means "good luck", is common everywhere across China during the Spring Festival. It is popular for its propitious meaning, also can be interpreted as "happiness", which the Chinese people believewill give them blessing in the coming new year. (Xinhua/Wang Song)
Children onboard wave goodbye. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)
Passengers wait for the train to depart at Guangzhou Railway Station in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong province, Jan. 16, 2014. The train windows were just like television screens, showing stories of different in Spring Festival travel rush. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
Lovebirds and young couple hug and kiss goodbye at Shanghai Railway Station at the start of the 40-day travel peak for the Spring Festival yesterday. The railway station has so far sold about 9.74 million tickets, with those bought online reaching 7.62 million, accounting for 78.5 percent. Authorities have predicted that more than 3.6 billion trips will be made nationwide. — Gao Jianping
Photo taken on Jan. 16, 2014 shows 120 ground crew members of China Eastern Yunnan Airlines perform a flash mob in the terminal building of Changshui International Airport in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan province. The cheering dance marked the beginning of the Spring Festival travel rush of 2014. (Photo/Chinanews.com)
A 7-month-old baby snuggles up to its mother while waiting for the train at Hangzhou East Railway Station in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province, Jan. 16, 2014. The 2014 Spring Festival travel rush of China started on the wee hours of Thursday. About 3.62 billion trips will be made during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, according to Lian Weiliang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission at a press conference. (Xinhua/Ju Huangzong)
The 40-day spring travel rush starting on Jan. 16 and ending on Feb. 24 will transport 3.623 billion passengers this year, 200 million more than last year, predicted by National Development and Reform Commission. (Source: Xinhua)
Staff members check the high-speed train schedule in a control room of Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, Jan. 15, 2014. Measures have been taken at the railway stations across the country to make passengers have a smooth and safe trip during the upcoming 40-day Spring Festival travel rush. (Xinhua/Li An)
Performers wish the audiences a happy new year during a spring festival gala held for beijing drifters in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 14, 2013. (Xinhua/Wang Zhen)
Villager Sun Xuetang makes steamed buns with patterns in the Zhuqiao Town, Laizhou City, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 15, 2014. Steamed bun with colourful patterns, listed as an intangible heritage of Shandong, is a traditional staple food during the Spring Festival in Jiaodong. [Photo: Xinhua/Xu Suhui]
Passengers wait to board a train at Beijing West Railway Station on Tuesday ahead of the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which starts on Thursday. This year’s annual travel rush is expected to witness 3.62 billion trips, an increase of 200 million more than last year. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]
A tourist poses for photos in front of horse-themed decorations ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan. 14, 2014. The Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 31 and marks the start of the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese zodiac. (Xinhua)
A couple hugs before separating from each other at the square of Beijing west railway station on Jan. 13, 2014. The annual Spring Festival travel rush is about to start. The Spring Festival, the most important occasion for a family reunion for the Chinese people, falls on the first day of the first month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, or Jan. 31 this year. (CNS/ Du Yang)
The photo, taken on Jan. 12, shows the lobby of (Beijing) Shang Hai Old Restaurant in Beijing's Xicheng District. The restaurant offers two affordable semi-finished dinner packages meant for 10 persons on New Year's Eve, which are priced at 980 and 1680 respectively. [Photo: CRIENGLISH/ Liu Ranran]
Photo taken on Jan. 13, 2013 shows the lanterns during the 20th Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival in Zigong, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The festival opened on Monday. (Xinhua/Zeng Lin)
Huo Yuexia demonstrates the 250-centimeter-long cross-stitch work of "Win Success Immediately Upon Arrival" at Xigaogu Village of Yongnian County in Handan City, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2014. Huo spent ten months to finish the cross-stitch. In China's ancient times, riding horse is an important mean of transportation. Therefore, Chinese like to use the horse to express their wish that "you will succeed since your arrival". (Xinhua/Hu Gaolei)
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar.(Source: China.org.cn/Zhang Guorong)
Chen Longyong shows his paper cutting work on December 29, 2013. Chen, who is in his 70's and is from Yancheng, Jiangsu province, has been making paper cuts for over 40 years. He recently created several horse-themed works to welcome the New Year, which is the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. (Photo/Xinhua)