China’s Spring Festival sparks world’s largest travel rush
The wave of travel triggered by China’s Spring Festival, a 40-day period considered the largest human migration in the world, began ahead of an extended Lunar New Year holiday, Reuters reports.
The Lunar New Year, which marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac, falls on February 17 and will be accompanied by nine days off between February 15 and 23, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.
Authorities hope that the extended holiday (last year’s break lasted eight days) will encourage Chinese consumers to spend more on travel and food during the festival period.
Many Chinese consumers are affected by an uncertain economic outlook and prefer to save rather than spend.
A planning official said last week that a record 9.5 billion trips are expected during the holiday period, surpassing the 9.02 billion trips made last year.
“This year feels more stressful when it comes to buying tickets compared to last year. For example, the flight I need to take to return home is already full,” said Liu, 32, who was traveling on Monday from Guangzhou airport. “If you don’t buy your ticket early, prices fluctuate a lot — they can even double.”
Major travel platforms reported that bookings for the 2026 Lunar New Year have already exceeded last year’s levels. According to Flight Master data from mid-January, domestic flight bookings during the holiday period surpassed 4.13 million, up 21% from the previous year.
Cities known for their cultural heritage, such as Huangshan in Anhui province, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, Quanzhou in Fujian, Foshan in Guangdong, and Zigong in Sichuan, are among the most popular destinations, according to travel agency Qunar.
