Travel peak comes as Chinese go home for Spring Festival

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities have forecast a peak travel rush in the second week of China's 40-day "Chunyun," starting Friday, as many Chinese people are rushing back home for the Spring Festival.

More trips will be made in the second week from Jan. 20 to 26, with the daily average likely to exceed 80 million trips, the Ministry of Transport said Friday.

Chinese people made 520 million trips in the week ending Thursday, the first week of the 40-day "Chunyun," referring to travel around the Spring Festival, up 3.1 percent year on year, according to ministry.

Trips made on trains surged 21.9 percent to 61.7 million in the first week, faster than the growth of trips made by other means of transportation.

About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival travel rush between Jan. 13 and Feb. 21, slightly up from a year ago, the National Development and Reform Commission said last week.

Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important occasion for family reunions and falls on Jan. 28 this year. Chinese people will enjoy a week-long holiday starting Jan. 27.

Chunyun, literally meaning "spring transport," was first coined as a phrase by the media in 1954 to describe heavy traffic around Spring Festival, according to China Railway Corp. archives.