State media reported that travelling Chinese are taking whatever mode of transport is available – roads, air and waterways. The word “Chunyun”, meaning the Spring Festival rush, was first coined by the Chinese media back in 1954, says the China Railway Corporation. This year, according to state media, “2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during Chunyun", which lasts from January 13 to February 21. One way of tackling the pressure is to increase the length of the high-speed railway network, which anyway is the longest in China. Nearly 17% of railway travellers would have stood in queues for hours despite having valid tickets because of the rush.

Source: Hindustan Times January 25, 2017 12:38 UTC