Spring Festival travel rush kicks off

The Spring Festival travel rush in China is the world's largest recurring movement of people. This year, the overall scale and the daily peaks are both expected to surpass previous records. Official estimates suggest that chunyun will generate a record 9.5 billion cross-regional trips, with rail journeys expected to total about 540 million and air travel about 95 million. As the public holiday period runs from Feb 15 to 23, the concentration of trips is likely to be higher during these days.

On Monday, the huge departure hall at Beijing West station saw a steady flow of passengers. Some paused for photo-ops near a Chinese zodiac installation to mark the upcoming Year of the Horse, while others toured an exhibition tracing the station's 30-year transformation.

According to China Railway Beijing Group, the station is estimated to have handled about 145,000 passenger trips on the first day of chunyun, and it is expected to record more than 5.15 million trips over the entire 40-day period.

The station has introduced a new air-rail intermodal service, allowing passengers to check in for selected China Eastern Airlines flights on the premises before transferring by train to Beijing Daxing International Airport.

At Daxing airport, lanterns and cultural displays lined corridors, while pop-up new year markets and themed boarding gates accentuated the holiday mood. Chinese airlines have scaled up capacities to match the travel rush demand. Air China said it plans to operate more than 70,000 passenger flights during chunyun, up more than 10 percent year-on-year, with a daily average of around 1,800 flights.

At some transportation hubs in eastern China, the first day of chunyun recorded high cultural vibes. Nanchang East Railway Station, for example, saw performers stage lively kuaiban — rapidly spoken verses punctuated by wooden clappers — alongside excerpts from Jiangxi's tea-picking opera. "I didn't expect waiting for a train to feel like this. It feels so warm and welcoming," said traveler Wang Yueyi.