If you're thinking now is a convenient time to go traveling, think again.
With Spring Festival over, it's time to go back to work. And with 8.48 million Beijing residents having left the city for the holidays, their imminent return means another travel rush is upon us.
The first two days of this month have already seen close to 2 million passengers passing through Beijing's railway stations. And with Thursday's returning total reaching 530,000, these record-breaking crowds signify just the beginning of the massive rush of people to come.
The mass influx of Spring Breakers back into Beijing will take place over two time periods: between February 1 and 6, and again February 11 to 16.
The return travel rush will make things very busy throughout China this week, accounting for some 11.5 million trips on China's trains. In fact, things have gotten so busy on Shanghai's highways that traffic police are allowing motorists to legally use the emergency lane on the G1501 for the first time ever.
And if you're thinking of welcoming a returning friend at the train station, you may want to reconsider. Lines to enter Beijing West Railway station are reportedly over a hundred meters long, while the wait to cross the security check at the local subway stop takes over seven minutes.
Making things better (or worse) is that local police will be cracking down on illegal taxis during the return travel rush. Cars with out-of-town license plates will face spotchecks when coming to pick up station passengers.
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But it's not just a crowded journey that Beijing returnees have to contend with. Out of all urban residents in China, Beijing residents pay the most for Spring Festival tickets at an average cost of 2,836 yuan. Additionally, Beijingers wanting to make it home for the holidays need to purchase their tickets an average of 33 days in advance.
Approximately 2.98 billion trips will be made between January 13 and February 21 during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, the world's largest annual migration of human beings.
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Images: CCTV, Shanghai Daily, EastDay, Xinhua
