RISK, BUT OPTIMISM
The Ministry of Transport has estimated the rush will see a total of 2.1 billion passenger trips nationwide between Jan 7 and Feb 15 as many Chinese city dwellers make the most of their first chance for Chinese New Year trips to see extended family in home regions since the pandemic began.
Chinese officials jettisoned Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy – an approach previously championed by ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping – in early December, letting the virus run unchecked across its population of 1.4 billion people.
State media reported that some 390,000 passengers were expected to travel from Shanghai train stations on Tuesday alone for what is known as the Spring Festival holiday – seen as the world’s largest annual mass migration before COVID-19.
As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China’s largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.
“I am not worried about the virus. Because we are young, our immunity is okay,” 37-year-old migrant worker Zhou Ning told Reuters outside the Shanghai Railway Station as he prepared to head back to his home area in Bazhong in the north-eastern province of Sichuan.
“Back in my hometown, there are many people who have tested positive, but I am not worried about it.”
On a train leaving Shanghai, fellow migrant worker Feng Hongwei, aged 21, said he was “so happy, so excited” as he began a trek home to Puyang, Henan. “I haven’t seen my parents in two years”.
The holiday season has also sparked a revival in domestic air travel with more than 70,000 flights across China between Jan 7 to 13, according to industry data reported by Shanghai Securities News on Monday. That’s equivalent to more than 80 per cent of the levels seen before the pandemic.
International air links are also recovering. Emirates Airlines on Monday became the latest carrier to announce it would resume services from its Dubai hub to Shanghai this week, and would operate daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing from March.
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