With the first train pulling out of Beijing West Railway Station at 5:34 a.m. on January 17, China's 40-day-long chunyun or Spring Festival travel rush, the world's largest human migration, was officially a fact.

From January 17 to February 25, Beijing West Railway Station will handle 3 million passengers over the entire course of chunyun, averaging around 75,000 travelers a day. The peak will fall on January 29, three days prior to the Spring Festival, with some 185,000 train voyagers.

COVID-19 control and prevention remains key. Health codes and masks are essential when using public transportation. Beijing West Railway Station has upped its disinfection frequency, including that of the airconditioning system and indoor waiting rooms, with five disinfecting robots deployed in the station's main corridor. Passengers who do not have smartphones can quickly check their health code status via facial recognition technology or by swiping their ID cards.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on February 1 this year. Hundreds of millions of Chinese will return to their hometowns for family reunions in celebration of China's most important holiday. Estimates project roughly 1.18 billion passenger trips will be made during the travel season, up 35.6 percent year on year, but still 20.3 percent lower than in 2020, the Ministry of Transport said.

(Text and photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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