Staff at Beijing West Railway Station serve passengers on Friday. The station has two special waiting rooms designed for those in need of special assistance, such as people with disabilities, expectant mothers and small children. [PHOTO/CHINA DAILY]
At dawn on Friday, Rakesh, an Indian passenger who gave only his first name, produced his passport and his ticket was checked by a station official. He was preparing to board train G6701, the first high-speed train during this year’s Spring Festival at Beijing West Railway Station, and his destination was Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province.
“I know the Spring Festival and have celebrated it several times with my friends. But I had no idea about the Spring Festival rush until I saw such a large number of people today,” he said, adding that transportation is convenient in China and it is easy for foreigners to buy tickets and board the shiny carriages.
Chunyun, or the “Spring Festival Fast Ride” during the Lunar Chinese New Year, is the largest annual movement of people in the world.
Amid the expected surge in train passenger numbers during Chunyun, Chinese railway departments have improved transport capacity, optimized services and organized themed events to meet the various needs of passengers and enhance their travel experience.
China’s railway network is expected to handle 480 million passenger trips during the 40-day Spring Festival travel peak – which officially began on Friday – an annual jump of 37.9 percent, China State Railway Group said.
China Railway Beijing Group is projected to handle 39.13 million passenger trips during the period, an increase of 14.1 percent compared to 2019, thus exceeding pre-pandemic levels. To cope with the expected influx of holidaymakers, the capital plans to organize 462 additional trains.
“Although ticket availability is competitive, I did not encounter any difficulty in purchasing tickets and was able to book a lower berth and a middle berth,” said Shen Dali, 58, who had taken his 92-year-old mother to visit Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province and head to their hometown in Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Harbin is an extremely popular tourist destination this winter largely due to its magnificent ice and snow sculptures.
Although both rounds of tickets were bought as soon as pre-sales began, Shen was only able to grab two middle seats for the trip to Harbin on Monday. He expressed his gratitude to the train attendants who resolved the situation by providing a lower berth to his mother.
Upon their arrival at Beijing West Railway Station on Friday, several staff and volunteers came to them, led them to a special waiting room and helped them with their luggage. Shen politely declined, saying that they were in good health and preferred to wander around the station and take in the excitement of activities.
Beijing West Railway Station has two special waiting areas designed for those in need of special assistance, such as the disabled, expectant mothers and young children. There is a special room for infants, a playground, charging stations and quite a few wheelchairs.
“Passengers can either make reservations through the 12306 app to buy tickets or come directly for personalized services,” said Zhao Yaxue, a station worker. “There has been an increase in the number of requests for services recently, with the earliest today being for help with a disabled person at the station at 5.59am.”
During the Spring Festival tourist season, railway stations across the country often organize various activities to create a more festive, fiesta-like atmosphere.
The station has invited several calligraphers to write fu, a Chinese character for good luck, on red paper for passengers on the first day of the busy journey.
Zeng Liying, a teacher in Tianjin, was waiting in line for the handwritten calligraphy. She headed to her hometown of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, with her husband for a family reunion.
Unable to purchase high-speed train tickets to Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, two of her friends decided to travel with the couple first to Guangzhou and then transfer to Nanning.
The four traveled from Tianjin to Beijing early Friday morning and were happy to come across the calligraphy gifts.
“I will carefully guard it and bring good luck back home,” Zeng’s husband said.
