Spring Festival Encyclopedia: A guide to the biggest festival in China (5)

[Design by Kou Jie, special thanks to Pixabay]

行(xíng)-春节运输 (Spring Festival Travel Season)

The first day of the Spring Festival is specifically for family members. After that, people will visit their relatives and friends, exchanging greetings and presents. This is known as the “New Year Visit.”

In modern times, the younger generation usually live in big cities far away from their hometowns. This means that the approach of the Spring Festival marks the start of the world’s largest annual migration, known as chunyun, bringing family members together despite the long distances.

There will be three billion trips made during the travel rush from Jan 10 to Feb 18 for family reunions and travel, slightly up from last year, according to a forecast from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). NDRC predicted an 8-percent growth in train trips, 8.4-percent increase in air trips and 9.6-percent hike in waterway trips.

The heavy travel volume has made it very difficult to buy train tickets. The transportation authorities have already developed mobile apps and websites to help people get tickets, while older people who are not familiar with modern technologies can also use more traditional means to buy tickets, including visiting a kiosk or ordering tickets by phone.

In a bid to avoid the travel rush, many families have abandoned the traditional way of celebrating the festival at home. Family members living in different cities will pick a rendezvous that is less crowded, such as small villages or tourist sites, and celebrate the festival on the road. This new trend is called “Anti-Spring Festival Travel Rush”.