Efforts underway to ensure safe, smooth holiday trips

In Henan, where some areas have been badly hit by the weather, all railway stations will stay open around the clock until Monday to offer continuous services for passengers.

The Zhengzhou East Railway Station has activated an emergency response plan, placing mats at the entrances and platforms to prevent passengers from slipping, and deploying additional staff at the inquiry center, Zhao Jingfei, duty head of the station, told China Central Television.

As a result of the adverse weather, many travelers are facing trip delays or cancellations.

According to the Hubei Airports Group, as of noon on Sunday, 315 flights had been canceled at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.

In the neighboring Anhui province, more than 95 highway toll stations have refused entry to vehicles as of Sunday morning, due to snow and freezing temperatures.

The extreme weather has also led to accidents in some places.

On Saturday night, 22 people were injured, including one critically, after a rain shelter at a tea house in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, collapsed.

A Beijing resident, surnamed Peng, who took a high-speed train on Friday from the Chinese capital to Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, experienced a delay of two hours, which dragged the travel time to more than 13 hours.

"This is the first time that I experienced a delay when traveling by a high-speed train," the 40-year-old said, adding that the long journey was exhausting.

Another Beijing resident, surnamed Liu, canceled her trip to Xi'an, Shaanxi province, in the last minute because of bad weather. "I'd rather avoid waiting at the station with two children," said Liu, who flew to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, instead.

Tang Yong, who drove from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province to Chongqing for the Spring Festival holiday, met with a minor car accident on a highway in Yiyang, Hu­nan, on Sunday morning. "Traffic police officers offered us food and hot drinks, which helped us keep warm amid the freezing weather."

Despite the challenges, efforts are being made to accommodate travelers during this year's travel rush period, which is expected to handle approximately 9 billion trips.