The 40-day 2025 Spring Festival travel rush is halfway through the 40-day period, and some people are starting to make their return journey. This year is the first Spring Festival travel rush after the implementation of the 8-day Spring Festival holiday, the comprehensive relaxation of the transit visa-free policy, and the successful application for the Chinese New Year's World Heritage. During this period, the national cross-regional personnel flow is expected to reach 9 billion, an increase of about 7% year-on-year, and the scale will hit a record high. The vigorous travel needs of the Spring Festival travel rush interpret people’s yearning and pursuit for a better life, and show a vibrant and steaming "mobile China".
Chinese-style modernization is a modernization with a huge population size, and "mobility" is an important factor in the prosperity and development of contemporary China. Since the reform and opening up, my country has experienced the largest and fastest urbanization process in world history. The Spring Festival travel rush, which was born with the "tide of migrant workers" and "tide of students" returning home, has also gone through more than 40 years. The Spring Festival travel rush is not only the annual "largest periodic migration of human beings", but also a "big test" for social governance capabilities. The excellent answer is inseparable from the increasing improvement of my country's transportation infrastructure network and also reflects the great achievements of my country's economic and social development.
At the beginning of the Spring Festival travel rush, my country had shortage of transportation infrastructure, backward transportation tools, and limited transportation capacity. Most travel depends on commercial passenger transport, and trains are the most important travel tool. With the development of the economy and the deepening of reform, roads, water transportation, civil aviation and railways have continued to work together to gradually form a multi-level travel system. In recent years, my country has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, highway network, as well as world-class port groups and airport groups. The total mileage of the comprehensive transportation network has exceeded 6 million kilometers, providing strong support for people's travel.
This year's Spring Festival travel rush, railway and civil aviation passenger volumes are expected to exceed 510 million and 90 million respectively, both of which will hit record highs; while self-driving travel firmly holds the dominant position, with an estimated 7.2 billion, accounting for about 80% of the cross-regional personnel flow in the whole society, and about one-fifth of the highway traffic is new energy vehicles. From green cars to the "land fleet" of EMUs, from "motorcycle troops" to self-driving new energy vehicles, from buying air tickets with letters of introduction to "new" of domestic large aircraft C919... The huge changes in the Spring Festival travel rush over the past few decades reflect the progress of the times.
Reunion is the eternal theme of the Spring Festival. The concept of "If you have money or not, go home for the New Year" has long supported the passenger flow during the Spring Festival travel rush. With the development of society, people's lifestyles and life concepts have undergone major changes. Nowadays, the Spring Festival travel rush is no longer just a synonym for returning home for the New Year. Reverse reunion, travel and Spring Festival travel have become new trends. During this year's Spring Festival travel rush, many elders came to the city where children work for the New Year. Ice and snow tours, cold tours, New Year customs tours, and cultural tours have become hot tourism spots. The form of reunion changes quietly as the stars change. As long as the family is together, reunion is everywhere.
Like a time train, the Spring Festival travel rush witnesses the rapid development of the country and records the stories of countless families living a happy life through struggle. The development of the economy and society, the improvement of transportation conditions, and the progress of scientific and technological levels have continuously changed the form of the Spring Festival travel rush and the way of celebrating the festival. However, the theme and spiritual core of reunion have been continuing, constantly strengthening the identity, family, national and cultural identity of the Chinese people, and also inspiring us to pursue common dreams and play the leading role in the new journey. (China Economic Net Commentator Deng Hao)
