China's New Year travel peak hits record
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-01-23 15:41

The number of passengers traveling on trains throughout China has hit a record high ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, state press said.

Some 3.74 million travelers jammed the nation's railways on Sunday, the start of the peak travel period for the New Year, up by 510,000 people from the corresponding day last year, the Beijing Times said.

The Lunar New Year, which this year ushers in the Year of the Dog in the Chinese zodiac, falls on January 29, the start of a seven-day national holiday.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese are expected to be on the move this week as an army of migrant workers and students return to their hometowns to celebrate the traditional holiday.

Over two billion trips are expected to be taken from January 14 to February 22, with up to 90 percent of the passengers travelling by bus, train or car, according to government estimates.

Some 15 million people will travel by air, estimates show.

The peak period, which officially starts a week ahead of Lunar New Year's Day, comes after heavy snowfalls delayed hundreds of thousands of passengers last week.