Spring Festival travel rush sees record number of travelers

Writer: Sun Yuchen, Han Ximin, You Di  |  Editor: Liu Minxia  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2023-01-09


Travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday. The 40-day Spring Festival transport season started Saturday as the train D376 to Lianyungang left Shenzhen North Railway Station at 6:27 a.m. that day. Photos by Sun Yuchen except otherwise stated

The train D376 to Lianyungang left Shenzhen North Railway Station at 6:27 a.m. Saturday, marking the start of the 40-day Spring Festival transport season.  

On the first day of the 40-day Spring Festival transport season, Shenzhen's transport terminals saw a total of 230,400 travelers embark on their journeys, up by 40,5% over the same period last year. This marked a new record high since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Staffmembers present good wishes to travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday.

Travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday. 

Data from the city’s transport bureau showed that the railways transported 162,000 passengers Saturday, up by 29.8% year on year, while the airport transported 50,700, up by 71.96% year on year.

The number of arrivals to Shenzhen reached 105,200 on the first day, up by 68.93%, data showed.

People write Spring Festival scrolls for travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday.

Travelers present their Spring Festival scrolls at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday.

According to Wang Ke, chief on duty at the station, the travel rush is expected to arrive between Jan. 14 and 20. Shenzhen railway system will send 8.7 million passengers during the transport season, or 217,000 a day. 

Among them, 4.37 million will be sent during the 15-day pre-festival period. The peak of the holiday travel rush is expected to arrive Jan. 18 and around 388,000 passengers will be sent through railway on that day. Shenzhen North Railway Station will send 280,000 passengers Jan. 18, up by 11% over the peak in the 2022 Spring Festival travel rush.  

Travelers check in at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport on Saturday. Sun Li

Shenzhen transport terminals are expected to handle 13.25 million passenger trips, up by 99.4% over the same period last year, data from Shenzhen transport bureau showed. 

Among them, the railway system will handle 10.50 million trips, up by 111.92% and the airport will handle 2.37 million passenger trips, up by 88.49%, data released by Shenzhen transport bureau showed.  

During the travel season, China Southern Airlines will operate 11,000 flights on 78 routes linking Shenzhen with other cities. It will add 1,110 flights on 18 routes. 

Travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday. 

Travelers at Shenzhen North Railway Station on Saturday. 

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