East China’s Jiangsu province is expecting a travel peak during Qingming Festival with 1.16 million trips to be made during the three-day holiday from April 2 to April 4. JSBC has the story.
Most people will travel in the Yangtze River Delta to visit relatives, pay homage to their deceased ancestors or make sightseeing trips, according to estimates by the Nanjing railway authority.
The travel peak will last from the afternoon of April 2 to April 5 with 1.16 million trips to be made.
Tian Jin, Sales Director, Nanjing Railway Station :We are expecting to handle 330 thousand passengers on April 3rd which is approximately 95.6% of the transport capacity in 2019. We have increased 28 sets of makeshift trains with 13 departing from Nanjing to head for Nantong, Shanghai and Wuhu.
The travel surge is in part due to the fact that many migrant workers were advised to stay put for the spring festival holiday for epidemic prevention and control.
As the weather is getting warmer, many people are longing for a sightseeing or home-going trip.
Tian Jin, Sales Director, Nanjing Railway Station The passenger transport capacity has been restored to the level in the same period in 2018 by 90%.
The Qingming Festival, also known as Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day, is one of the public holidays in China. In the Chinese tradition, it is the day for the Chinese to remember those that have passed away. On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who come to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices.
The Qingming Festival, which falls on either April 4th or 5th of the Gregorian calendar, is one of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar. From that date onwards, temperatures begin to rise and rainfall increases, indicating that it is the crucial time for plowing and sowing in the spring.
