Biggest Human Migration for the Lunar New Year
February 4, 2016 | Current Events
Migration map (Photo; cnn)
From February 4 to March 15, millions of Chinese workers return to their hometown to be reunited with their families and celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The annual celebration triggers the world’s largest annual human migration called Chunyun or spring migration which last for 40 days.
Around 2.9 billion trips using public transport and 1 billion trips using private vehicles are estimated to happen in China this year. According to authorities, there is an estimated increase of 100 million trips compared to previous year.
Train commuters (Photo: cnn)
Millions of people travel home to be with their families.
Migrant workers from major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have already started their journey home.
The snow and poor weather condition are also impacting the commuters. Tens of thousands of train passengers were reported to be trapped in Guangzhou Railway station when dozen trains were delayed.
Interesting facts about the Lunar Year period
• Automobile is the most popular mode of transport with an estimated of 2.48 billion trips during the period.
• Worst congestion is usually in the 42-kilometer Suzhou section of Beijing-Shanghai Expressway.
• Slowest traffic recorded was 17 kph in some parts of the Nanjing-Luoyang Expressway in Nanjing City.
• The three cities with huge population of migrant workers are Beijing (10%); Shanghai (9.2%) and Shenzhen (7.23%).
• The busiest airports are the Beijing Capital International Airport, Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport and Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport.
• The 550-kilometer journey from Shanghai to Lu’an in Anhui Province is the most travelled route.
For more information about the migration, Baidu, has released an interactive map tracking chunyun movements around the country.
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