Do you think your commute is tough ? Try being part of the largest human migration on the planet . Each year , in celebration ofLunar New Year , billions of people in China make the trek home to visit family and work gift . For some , this could stand for one thousand of Admiralty mile of travel by plane , train , charabanc , automobile , boat or evenmotorbike .
call Chunyun , or Spring Festival in English , this one-year travel spate last 40 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . In 2020 , Chunyun pass off from Jan. 10 until Feb. 18 , and will see anexpected 3 billion tripsto honor the Year of the Rat , which formally begins on Jan. 25 .
With the massive movement of masses , Chunyun travelers often share a common crowded experience . believe that the Chinese national railway meshwork expects more than440 million passengersin 2020 , up from 406 million in 2019 .
Wendy Zhou , a doctorial student in Atlanta , recall traveling from Dongying to her parental grandmother ’s home base in the Zhangqiu district as a child . In a vehicle , the trip might have taken three hours , but because the kinfolk did not have a car , they boarded a low - speed " fleeceable train , " which added an hour or two to the journey , not including the taxi to the post and the motorbus to the hamlet .
" On the train , it was always pack , " Zhou echo . " Everybody was standing and holding some sort of instant noodle , so it was very smelly . "
But China ’s transportation system has developed importantly since Zhou ’s childhood , and the country has been preparing for this year ’s Chunyun travel rush with the launch of 10 new railways at the end of 2018 and a plan to increase flights by 10 percent in 2018 , too , consort toXinhuaNet . The Spring Festival rush also tender China the opportunity to display its technological apprehension with radical - modern change of location lineament likebullet gear , train tickets purchased by the swipe of a smartphone , aerodrome and railwayrobots , and security viafacial recognition .
And while the custom of wreak gift home has remained , it has take a modern turning , too . Some traveller are antecede the in - hand approach and transportation gifts and taking advantage of due east - commerce platforms likeTaobao .
" Now I do n’t want to bring many things other than a haversack back home , " say Xiao Han , who is traveling from Beijing to Laiwu , Shandong responsibility for the Chinese New Year . " I send my gifts through China ’s fast mailing service . "
Wherever you are and however you get there , be sure to celebrate the Year of the Rat .
