(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- One of the biggest human migrations in the world kicked off yesterday, as Chinese people started to return home from their places of work to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival, an important occasion for family reunions and to welcome the arrival of spring.

Some 1.18 billion passengers are expected to travel across China during the Spring Festival period that runs from Jan. 17 to Feb. 25, according to the Ministry of Transport. This would be a 35.6 percent gain from last year, but still just 60 percent of 2019’s numbers.

Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 1 this year and the official public holiday lasts for one week from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6.

Two attendants at Beijing West Railway Station hold a banner saying ‘the first day of the 2022 Chinese New Year Travel Rush’ which has been signed with good wishes by passengers. They are standing in front of a high-speed train that runs between Beijing and Handan in northern Hebei province.

Health workers at Nanjing Railway Station check the Covid-19 test results of a traveler. Many people chose not to return home for the holidays last year due to government exhortations to ‘stay put’ to curb the spread of Covid-19. Fewer people are expected to heed the call this year.

Passengers observe social spacing as they sit in the departure hall of Lianyungang Railway Station, eastern Jiangsu province, waiting for their train to depart. They can use the railway ticketing app 12306 to check the travel regulations at their destination cities which are constantly updated as new Covid-19 cases are found.

A traveler displays his green health code to railway staff at Changxing station in Huzhou, southeastern Zhejiang province to show he is clear to travel.

Migrant workers and students sit patiently in the departure hall of Liuzhou station, southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region waiting for their train home.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor