China sees over 100 million rail trips after Spring Festival

Passengers are prepared to board trains during the Spring Festival travel rush at Shenzhen North railway station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, Jan 18, 2023. China saw passenger trips climb 48.7 percent year on year to over 100 million after the Spring Festival as the country's shift in COVID 19 response resulted in pent-up travel demand.

There were 102 million trips by train from Jan 22 to Feb 1, 33.51 million more than the same period last year, according to data from China State Railway Group Co Ltd.

The company said that 9.31 million passenger trips were made on average daily in the period, about 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

In order to meet the rising travel demand, additional trains were put into operation, and point-to- point trains sent migrant workers directly to their workplaces.

The Spring Festival is the first day of the first lunar month, and spending the turn of the new year with loved ones is a ritual for Chinese people. The Spring Festival of this year fell on January 22.