China starts world's largest scale human migration
中國開始世界上最大規模人口遷徙

China's annual travel rush for the Spring Festival period began 10 days ago. During 'Chun Yun,' as it is called in Chinese, millions head to their home towns to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families. Experts say passenger numbers are expected to surpass last year's.

The start of China’s 40-day travel spree, which will stretch over the Spring Festival period, has begun, and Chengdu Railway Station is expecting to see 24.2 million passengers, up 9 percent compared to last year. This is the period where millions in China head back to their hometowns to spend the holidays. And there is always the fear of not being able to get a ticket.

The travel period will see 13 million people traveling within Sichuan province itself. That is surge of 1 million more compared to the previous year. Similarly, nationwide, the rail system forecasts numbers to climb 10 percent; 300 million trips will be made this year during the travel rush. Planning this operation has kept rail authorities busy.

"This year, in order to provide better services for passengers who requires special assistance, we have coordinated with subway station, city bus station, and the long-distance bus station, so those people can get the immediate help," said You Jia, deputy director of Chengdu East Railway Station.

Among those who make the journey over what has been termed “the world’s large scale of human migration,” 300,000 people are shunning trains, opting instead to ride motorcycles from coastal regions back to their homes in Wuzhou, down from 400,000 during the travel rush in 2013.

In the past, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers would ride motorcycles to return home to see their families. But experts say that this year things are changing. As more manufacturing firms move inland from the coastal regions, there will be fewer bikers on the road for the long journey home.

Though train tickets cost more than traveling via motorcycle, most migrant workers still opt for rail, with about migrant workers comprising 70 percent of train passengers during the period. Even for the airline segment, travel numbers will see an 8 percent increase to an estimated 47.5 million passengers. Crowding is also expected to intensify.

According to the CAAC or Civil Aviation Administration of China, air passenger flow during the spring travel rush will jump to nearly 29 million, at a 12.5 percent increase from 2014. It has urged the air travel industry to expedite processes in a bid to lessen bottlenecks along the travel process.

"We have moved the self-service machines to spots where there are more convenient to travelers. In addition, we have also opened more kiosks and added more shifts," said Cui Lei, Chengdu-Shuangliu International Airport.

The CAAC has also stressed that airlines should improve contingency plans in case of flights delays.