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China’s Lunar New Year travel rush: extra trains, packed airports and stranded tourists

  • Over 1,200 train services have been added to cope with passenger numbers as people head home after the holiday, state broadcaster says
  • On Friday, more than 2.35 million flights were booked – the most of any day in the coming week, according to the civil aviation authority

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Chinese travellers are on the move as the Lunar New Year holiday draws to a close. Photo: EPA-EFE
Chinese transport authorities were bracing for the busy Lunar New Year travel period to reach its peak on Friday, as holidaymakers make their way home at the end of the break.

On Thursday alone, travellers made 315 million “cross-regional” trips by train, plane, bus, car and boat, according to the Ministry of Transport. That was up from 306 million on Wednesday and 301 million on Tuesday.

More than 1,200 extra train services have been added across the country to cope with the increased passenger numbers, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday.

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Lunar New Year rush under way in China with more travel overseas and to major domestic cities

Lunar New Year rush under way in China with more travel overseas and to major domestic cities

Airports are also busy, with more than 2.35 million flights booked for Friday across China – the most of any day in the coming week, according to the civil aviation authority.

The Lunar New Year is China’s biggest holiday and this year runs for eight days instead of seven, as authorities try to boost domestic tourism and the sluggish economy. The holiday – which ends on Saturday – falls within a 40-day festive travel period, a time when millions make the pilgrimage to their hometowns to see family.

After the break, many travellers will be returning to the country’s more developed, affluent cities such as the capital, Beijing, as well as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, according to Qunar, one of China’s biggest online travel agencies. Wuhan, Changsha and Hangzhou were also among the popular destinations for returning travellers.

In the Yangtze River Delta region, an economic powerhouse, more train services have been added for cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xuzhou to cope with the end-of-holiday rush, according to media reports in Shanghai. Travellers were expected to take some 2.55 million railway trips in the region on Friday.

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