On the Home Straight

Facts and figures of the 2018 Chunyun travel rush
Ground crew remove ice and snow from a plane at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on January 25, reducing the length of weather-related delays
Staff monitor ticket sales on China Railway Corp.’s official website 12306.cn in a control center at the China Academy of Railway Sciences on February 2. The daily capacity of the website has been enhanced from last year’s 10 million tickets to 15 million for this year
Volunteers from the China National Petroleum Corp. help migrant workers refuel their motorcycles before the riders start their journey home in Quanzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province, on February 1. Besides free oil, volunteers also provide other services including hot tea and maps as a part of their Spring Festival service campaign now in its seventh year
A passenger receives a free pair of Spring Festival couplets, known as Chunlian in Chinese, written by volunteering calligraphers at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station on February 2

Photos by Xinhua News Agency

Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on February 16 this year. Hundreds of millions of people across China will return to their hometowns for family reunions or travel around the country in what has become the largest human migration in the world.

Around 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the 2018 Spring Festival travel rush from February 1 to March 12, consistent with figures from last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

China Railway Corp., the national rail operator, has launched a series of measures to provide "smart" services, including self-service counters to check tickets and identification at the entrance of railway stations, smart navigation systems in waiting rooms, and ubiquitous travel notices.

Free smartphone apps are also available for download, allowing passengers to check details about their journey such as the number of tickets available and the number of stops along the way.

As for travel by road, the integrated electronic toll collection system will help enhance the efficiency of travel, said the Ministry of Transport.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has also increased the provision of services by making full use of the Internet, new media platforms and auto identification technology.

Copyedited by Laurence Coulton

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