It's estimated that over 2.9 billion people will travel during the upcoming spring festival travel rush, or chunyun this year.

Tourists are checking their tickets at Shanghai Railway Station on January 19, 2016. China’s chunyun begins on January 24 this year. [Photo: Xinhua]

Lian Weiliang with the National Development and Reform Commission said a ticket shortage is still likely this year.

"Passenger flow continues to grow this year with 100 million more people travelling during the spring festival. Though nearly 20 new high speed railways, or 3000 kilometers of highway came into operation last year, it is still difficult to buy a ticket for hotspot places at peak times. Airlines, although we have arranged nearly 12 thousand flights each day during the chunyun period, an increase of 14 per cent year on year, still cannot meet all travellers’ demands travelling to cities like Beijing and Shanghai."

Lian also warned bad weather during spring festival may also affect transportation this year.

Spring Festival is China's traditional holiday for family gatherings.

This year's Spring Festival travel peak begins this Sunday.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)