Smoother festival travel sign of advancing times

The travel rush at Spring Festival always makes headlines because it strikes a chord with almost everyone in this country. Going back home ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve for a family reunion after a year of work, no matter how far one is away, is a duty ingrained in the minds of most Chinese people.

Yet the journey was for long strewn with difficulties and hardships. Just a few years ago getting a ticket could be a headache for many, and long hours in an ill-ventilated, tightly packed train characterized the journeys.

Given its population of more than 1.3 billion, no wonder the Spring Rush is considered the world's largest migration of people. This year, a record 3 billion trips are forecast to be made, by road, rail, water and by air, over a span of 40 days around the traditional festival.