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BEIJING. – The Spring Festival, the most important Chinese festival centred on family reunions, has become even bigger in 2024. 

The number of people returning home in China this year increased by 23 percent compared to the same period last year, according to telecommunications operator China Mobile’s big data analysis.

The number of railway passengers in China dropped by about 40 percent yesterday, the eve of the first day of this year’s Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, compared to the previous day, as many people had already returned home or embarked on their journeys, data from an official ticketing platform showed.

On Thursday, the number of railway passengers remained high, with 12.9 million people taking trains. 

As of yesterday, more than 170 million people have taken trains during the Spring Festival travel rush, known as chunyun in Chinese.

Starting from January 26, the 40-day travel rush is expected to see a record high 9 billion cross-regional passenger trips, according to the Ministry of Transport. The peak of the travel flow is expected to be on the fourth day of the Chinese Spring Festival, according to China Mobile’s big data analysis.

Chunyun is the world’s largest annual human migration. 

China Mobile’s data also showed that the average distance of people returning home during the Spring Festival is 509km.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng yesterday emphasised putting safety first for transport operations and providing sound transportation services during the Spring Festival holiday.

While at the ministry, the vice premier virtually inspected traffic conditions on a number of routes in various areas, including Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Hainan. He also learned about weather conditions after the holiday, forecasts of return-journey passenger flows and preparation work relevant to responding to emergencies.

Some areas have continuously suffered from extreme weather conditions in recent days, he said, urging relevant departments to make early preparations for possible weather changes and emergencies on the return trip after the holiday.

The vice premier also noted the need to comprehensively strengthen workplace safety responsibilities and to promptly implement plans for road diversions and highway control, in order to resolutely eliminate safety hazards.

He also emphasized reinforcing the monitoring of return-journey passenger flows, guidance of travel information and the guarantee of smooth traffic logistics.  – Xinhua