Home China Train Guide Train Station Guide Train Schedules Train Maps FAQs

The 2024 Spring Festival Travel Rush in China

Ticket Search & Booking

Info about Taking China Trains

Classes of Seats & Train Types

Popular Train Routes

Train Station Guides

The 2024 railway spring travel season in China began on January 26 and conclude on March 5, lasting for 40 days. Train tickets for the spring travel season will be available for purchase starting from January 12. It is anticipated that around 12,700 passenger trains will be scheduled daily before the holiday, and approximately 12,800 trains daily after the holiday. The seating capacity is expected to increase by 14.4% and 12.6% compared to the spring travel season of 2019.

It is expected that the railway will transport 480 million passengers during the spring travel season, averaging around 12 million passengers per day. This represents a 37.9% increase compared to the spring travel season of 2023 and an 18% increase compared to the 2019 season. The passenger flow is expected to remain at a high level overall, with a relatively stable period before the holiday and a more concentrated period after the holiday. Based on current pre-sale conditions, there is a noticeable increase in the number of passengers traveling for family visits and tourism.

Besides, on January 23rd, China's railway ticketing service(12306), began selling tickets for February 6th. A total of 18.937 million tickets were sold nationwide, marking the peak of ticket sales before the Spring Festival travel rush. According to the latest news, 61.08 million tickets were sold for the Spring Festival travel period, showing a year-on-year growth of 159%. The highest daily ticket sales on 12306.com reached 18.937 million, with a peak daily website visitation of 62.92 billion times.

The 2024 railway Spring Festival travel season is the first regular travel season after the stable phase of the pandemic. The demand for ticket purchasing and travel from passengers is strong. Based on current pre-sale conditions, tickets for routes from Shenzhen to Guiyang, Shenzhen to Nanning, Shenzhen to Wuhan, Shenzhen to Chongqing, Guangzhou to Chongqing, Guangzhou to Guiyang, Guangzhou to Wuhan, Beijing to Harbin, and others are in great demand from February 3rd to 6th. During the pre-sale period, some trains on routes such as Guangzhou to Chengdu, Guangzhou to Nanchang, Shanghai to Wuhan, Shanghai to Beijing, Shanghai to Qingdao, Beijing to Changchun, Beijing to Shenyang, Beijing to Jinan, Beijing to Datong, and Beijing to Hohhot still have available tickets. Passengers are advised to purchase tickets promptly.

The Main Travel Statistics for The Major Cities in China

In the Beijing area, it is expected to have 17.821 million passengers during the Spring Festival travel rush, a recovery to 112.8% of the level in 2019. It is estimated that in the first 15 days before the festival, Beijing will have 8.935 million passengers, an increase of 3.72 million compared to 2023, representing a growth of 71.3% and a recovery to 119.2% of the 2019 level.

During the 40 days of the Spring Festival travel rush in Shanghai, it is expected to send over 14 million passengers, a nearly 10% increase compared to the same period in 2019, reaching a historic high. The new Plans include the addition of 206 train pairs, with nearly a hundred running at night. Shanghai Station will add trains to Harbin, Qiqihar, Ulanhot, and Changchun, significantly increasing transportation capacity in the northeast direction.

In the 2024 Spring Festival travel rush, Nanjing Railway Station is expected to send 8.72 million passengers (21.8 thousand daily), a growth of 38.3% compared to 2023 and 20.4% compared to 2019.

Hangzhou Railway Station is expected to send 10.11 million passengers, averaging 25.3 thousand daily, a 32.9% increase compared to 2023 (19.0% compared to 2019). Among them, 4.29 million passengers will be sent before the festival, and 5.82 million after the festival.

To meet the travel needs of passengers during the Spring Festival travel rush, Chengdu EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) Depot will increase transportation frequency by adding train services and enhance capacity by operating coupled EMUs. During the period, it will operate a maximum of 283 pairs of passenger trains. In peak periods, 23 night high-speed trains will be added to destinations including Chengdu East, Tianfu Airport, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. All 167 assigned passenger EMUs will be put into operation.

Tips for Buying Tickets and Taking Trains during Spring Festival Travel Rush

1.Plan and Buy your train ticket(s) as earlier as possible. Tickets are in great demand during the spring festival, you are recommended to book your ticket(s) in advance on our China Train Booking app.

2.You must go to the station earlier during the travel rush. There are some big and busy train stations, such Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, Guangzhou Railway Station, Zhengzhou Railway Station, Changsha Railway Station, Shenzhen North Railway Station, Hangzhou Railway Station and so on.

3.During Spring Festival travel rush, if you want to have a comfortable and quiet environment on the train, taking the business class seat is recommended.