China's Spring Festival travel rush highlights more than speed and efficiency

Two kids gesture aboard a train bound for Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in east China's Shanghai, Jan. 14, 2025. [Photo by Chen Haoming/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- The Spring Festival, China's biggest traditional holiday, will fall on Jan. 29 this year. The Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, the world's largest annual human migration known for its high transportation demand as millions return home for family reunions, kicks off on Tuesday.

Travelers prepare to enter Changsha Railway Station in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Chen Sihan]

Travelers walk in Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Xu Hongyan]

A boy gestures aboard train T258 from Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Chen Shuo]

Travelers walk in Hefei Railway Station in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Du Yu]

A father plays a game with his daughter at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Li Jianan]

Two college students returning home try paper-cutting at Nanning East Railway Station in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Cao Yiming]

A mother and her son have breakfast at Kunming South Railway Station in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao]

A family is pictured at Chongqing West Railway Station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Wang Quanchao]

Two kids pose for a photo with a Spring Festival decoration in Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Fan Yuqing]