After long wait, people rush to reunite with families
The waiting hall of Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station is full on Saturday, the first day of this year's Spring Festival travel rush, which will run 40 days to mid-February.
How long since you have seen your parents, partners, children and other family members?
"I haven't gone home for three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020," said Liu Sha, a woman from the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong Province who is working in Shanghai.
She took a train from Shanghai Railway Station on Saturday, the first day of this year's chunyun, or Spring Festival travel rush, the world's largest human migration.
This year's chunyun started on Saturday, 10 days earlier than last year, and will run 40 days till February 15.
"All my parents have recently been infected by COVID-19, so I asked an earlier leave to take care of them," she said.
Liu said she hoped her parents can get well soon before the Spring Festival, the most important traditional holiday for Chinese people, which falls on January 22 this year.
Liu was infected with coronavirus a few days ago and is still suffering from some aftereffects, such as a lingering cough and fatigue.
Love birds hug goodbye at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.
As China has relaxed its COVID-19 control policies, the number of passenger trips are expected to surge during this peak time.
According to Trip.com, formerly known as Ctrip, as of 9am on Saturday morning, the number of inquiries and bookings for railway travel during the Spring Festival travel rush increased by nearly 20 percent compared with the same period last year.
Shanghai's railway stations are expected to send off 9.55 million passengers during the period, an increase of 38.7 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Shanghai Group.
The group predicted the number of trips on Saturday will reach 230,000, a 45.8 percent increase from the first day of chunyun last year.
A total of 272 pairs of double-way trains will be added to cope with the increased need.
A woman prepares to travel with her two children.
Apart from Liu's story, the first travel rush day also recorded love stories of people who are due to be reunited with their loved ones after a long separation.
"I'm going to Hangzhou (in neighboring Zhejiang Province) to visit my girlfriend. She works and lives there," said a young man surnamed Chen.
"The relaxed policy is really a good news for us. Last year, we hardly got chance to see each other because of the quarantine measures."
Chen said this year, they can meet every week.
"I am planning a proposal and hope this year we can get engaged successfully," Chen said.
A man takes a high-speed train with a calligraphy and painting decoration, meaning "harmony in a family brings prosperity."
With the holiday approaching, the number of trips is expected to keep rising.
The railway travel peak is predicted to reach around the day before New Year's Eve, which will fall on January 21, when the daily passenger number is likely to hit 475,000, according to the railway group.
Saturday is also the day when the railway tickets on Chinese New Year's Eve open to booking.
Passengers queue for boarding.
Some travelers started a leisure holiday on Saturday
A man, surnamed Gu, along with his wife and daughter, took a trip to Suzhou in Jiangsu Province on Saturday.
"We've all recovered from COVID-19, and really want to have a relaxation," he said.
"We will go to Suzhou to visit my parents first, and then we will fly to Sanya to enjoy sunshine and beach together."
The platform is busy.
According to the most recent data from Tongcheng Travel, tickets of trains from Beijing to some hot destinations, such as Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an and Taiyuan, were sold out as soon as they were released at 8am.
Also, in the past three days, the number of train ticket reservations for return trips after the Spring Festival increased by 276 percent month on month.
About 13.32 million passengers are expected to depart Shanghai, while the city will likely welcome more than 12.76 million passengers during the travel rush.
The railways will be the primary carrier of passenger traffic.
