China’s massive Lunar New Year travel rush: where are they going and how?

It’s known as the world’s greatest annual migration of people. Huge numbers in China travel home each year to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, a mass movement of people known in Chinese as chunyun. The authorities on the mainland expect the highest number of trips ever to be made during this year’s festive season. The Ministry of Transport predicts that 2.98 billion trips will be made from January 13 to February 20.

Here are some key facts about the holiday travel rush:

What is chunyun?

Chunyun refers to the 40-day period of mass migration as Chinese people travel home for a family reunion during the Lunar New Year holiday, also known as the Spring Festival.

The term is thought to have first been used in state media by the People’s Daily in the 1980s, but it is now a formal term adopted by the National Development and Reform Commission when it coordinates with the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration each year to announce the number of people expected to travel during the holiday rush.

When does it take place?

The 40-day period begins 15 days before the first day in the lunar new year and ends 25 days after. This year it extends from January 13 to February 21, with New Year’s day falling on January 28.

The state-run news agency Xinhua said the peak travel period was reached on Monday with 83 million passengers travelling on all forms of transport.

Who travels during this period?

The main travellers during chunyun are migrant workers and students.

China has about 277.5 million migrant workers who account for 36 per cent of the nation’s workforce, according to figures released last year by the National Bureau of Statistics.

About 78 million migrant workers travel long distances to find work and live, rather than stay in their home provinces, the NGO China Labour Bulletin says.