Passengers prepare for annual peak

BEIJING - As the Chinese Lunar New Year draws closer, the world's largest annual human migration is expected to begin on Jan 8, with at least 3.2 billion journeys expected over a 40-day period.

Spring Festival starts on Jan 23 in 2012, with the public holiday running from Jan 22 to 28. Chinese people tend to return home for family unions during this period.

This travel peak is expected to put the country's transport system through a harsh test, as total traffic between Jan 8 and Feb 16 is set to grow by 9.1 percent on the 2.9 billion trips taken in 2011.