GUANGZHOU, Jan. 27 – China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with record-breaking journey numbers expected. The travel rush, also known as “chunyun,” is a mirror of societal changes and how people travel for family reunion across south China’s Guangdong Province.
ABOVE: People head for their hometowns via motorbikes at a section of the G321 national highway in south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 30, 2013.(Xinhua/Liang Xu)
BELOW: Bullet trains are pictured at a maintenance base in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
BELOW: A passenger walks with her child on the platform of Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
BELOW: Passengers go through automatic ticket gates at Guangzhou South Railway Station in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
BELOW: A passenger holds her child at Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
BELOW: A passenger collects his ticket from an automatic ticket machine at Guangzhou South Railway Station in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
BELOW: This photo taken on Jan. 24, 2024 shows a view of the newly-built Guangzhou Baiyun Railway Station in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province. (Photo by Chen Junyan/Xinhua)