Spring Festival Travel Rush - 2026!!!

It's that time of year again! Spring Festival!!




A train driver conducts simulation driving exercises at the simulation training base in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2026. With the approach of the Spring Festival, high-speed train staff members in Beijing are engaging in busy preparations to better serve the Spring Festival travel rush. (Xinhua/Li An)



A staff member conducts maintenance work at a high-speed train base in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Li An)



Staff members conduct maintenance work at a high-speed train base in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Li An)



Train drivers conduct simulation driving exercises at the simulation training base in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Li An)

Passengers purchase train tickets at a railway station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo by Su Yang/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Train tickets for the first day of the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush went on sale on Monday, China's railway operator said.

This year's travel rush period, known as chunyun, will run from Feb. 2 to March 13, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

The national railway network is expected to handle 539 million passenger trips during the 40-day period this year, representing a 5 percent increase from the 2025 chunyun, the company said.

Each year during the Spring Festival travel rush, millions of people who work, study, or live away from their hometowns return home to reunite with their families for the Spring Festival, China's most important traditional holiday, forming the world's largest annual human migration.

This year's Spring Festival will fall on Feb. 17. To better accommodate the surge in travel demand, railway operators have rolled out a range of service upgrades, including a limited-time free refund policy for mistakenly purchased tickets, expanded "quiet carriage" services, and discounted tickets for students.



A passenger purchases train ticket at a railway station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo by Sun Zhongnan/Xinhua)



A staff member handles ticketing services for passengers at a railway station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo by Su Yang/Xinhua)



A passenger purchases train ticket at a railway station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo by Zhao Jun/Xinhua)



A passenger purchases train tickets at a railway station in Changxing County of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo by Tan Yunfeng/Xinhua)





Passengers purchase train tickets at a railway station in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photos by Meng Delong/Xinhua)

Rail operators launch anti-fraud campaign​

By Pang Bo | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2026-01-20 17:46
Chinese railway operators have launched an anti-fraud campaign to educate rail passengers. At Yuci Station in Shanxi province, staff members have partnered with police forces in the station to push anti-fraud publicity material among passengers staying in the waiting hall. Through practical on-site demonstrations, they have shown passengers ways to install the National Anti-Fraud Center app, and identify suspicious links and unfamiliar calls. The passengers have also been told to target high-risk fraud types to safeguard their personal property as the Spring Festival draws near.

Hi Popeye, I thought you have decided to leave SDF forever. It's good you're back. I was once thinking about leaving the forum too after 20 years staying here. I am one of the least posting members here, but the forum has changed since I first joint it. SDF used to be an internation forum with posters from all over the globe. High standard and high-quality posts. Now, it seems become a mini-Chinese forum which most posters are Chinese, and less active moderators. The rules have been loosen a lot too.

Thank you Steelbird. I agree with much of what you posted.

In March I'll be a member in the forum 21 years.


SHANGHAI, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Yangtze River Delta railway network is projected to handle over 100 million passenger trips during the 2026 Spring Festival travel season, marking the first time it will hit this milestone, according to China Railway Shanghai Group.

The annual 40-day travel rush, which runs from early February to mid-March this year, is expected to witness 103 million passenger trips on this railway, a 4-percent increase compared to 2025.

To cope with the passenger surge, railway authorities will add 437.5 pairs of trains based on the peak operation schedule, with daily train services surpassing 1,700 pairs during high-demand periods.

The Yangtze River Delta region, which covers Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, all in east China, is one of China's most economically dynamic, open and innovative areas, playing a key role in national development and driving high transportation demand.

Passenger flow trends during the Spring Festival travel rush typically show high travel enthusiasm, with migrant workers tending to head home early to destinations like Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Chongqing, all in southwestern China, ahead of the festival.

Student travel flows, meanwhile, largely fall outside peak periods before the festival, but tend to overlap with other travel streams after the holiday.

Passengers take photos at the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 21, 2026. The Beijing West Railway Station marked its 30th anniversary on Wednesday. Over the past three decades, this modern transport hub has handled more than 1.96 billion passenger trips, standing as a witness to China's development and the evolution of its railway network. (All photos by Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)





These photos taken on Jan. 21, 2026 shows an interior view of the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China.



This photo taken on Jan. 21, 2026 shows an exterior view of the Beijing West Railway Station and its surrounding areas in Beijing, capital of China.



A bullet train pulls out of the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 21, 2026.



A bullet train stops at a platform of the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 21, 2026.



Passengers prepare for boarding on a platform at the Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 21, 2026.

I tried the high-speed train during my trip to China in April last year, The Fuxing. But a very short trip, just about an hour from Guangzhou to Huizhou where I found my grandfather's hometown. Max speed was 268km/h as I could noticed.

The article below has a video in English..


The inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, are expected to reach a record high, according to a meeting held on Wednesday. #XinhuaNews

bd popeye said:

The article below has a video in English..

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

The inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, are expected to reach a record high, according to a meeting held on Wednesday. #XinhuaNews

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I just wonder if office people in China can ask for leave of 1 or 2 days before Chunyun starts to avoid travel rush?

SteelBird said:

I just wonder if office people in China can ask for leave of 1 or 2 days before Chunyun starts to avoid travel rush?

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Labour law mandates at least 5 vacation days after working for one year (not tied to specific companies)