Financial woes not a deal breaker as China’s Lunar New 12 months journey rush kicks off

By Liz Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) – The annual journey rush for China’s Lunar New 12 months celebrations formally started on Tuesday, with many taking a psychological break from their worries concerning the future to reunite with household or take a vacation.

The height journey season on the planet’s second-largest economic system kicked off with a prepare departing from Beijing minutes after midnight, taking early hen travellers from the capital to Hefei in jap Anhui province.

Most individuals purpose to be with household for the standard reunion dinner on the eve of the New 12 months, which falls on Jan. 29 this yr.

The 40-day journey season will proceed till Feb. 22, throughout which authorities estimate a document 9 billion home journeys can be made. The forecast matches 2024’s estimate, though solely 8.4 billion journeys had been truly made throughout final yr’s festivities.

Railway passenger quantity is anticipated to exceed 510 million passengers, whereas greater than 90 million passengers are anticipated to fly. Nevertheless, the variety of journeys by non-public car is anticipated to succeed in 7.2 billion journeys, or about 80% of the full home passenger circulate, nationwide tv broadcaster CCTV mentioned.

Most of China’s 1.4 billion inhabitants can be celebrating this yr’s Lunar New 12 months, often known as the Spring Pageant, at a time when the economic system is struggling to maintain a sturdy restoration hamstrung by weak home demand and a chronic property market disaster.

Some travellers mentioned they might not permit the state of the economic system to take the shine off the upcoming celebrations.

“Though the economic system has slowed down, I believe the nation as an entire is taking into account (the financial scenario) and us, as peculiar folks, reside effectively (day after day),” mentioned Wang Zhixu, a 55-year-old who works in property administration providers, and was on the station in Beijing.

“Peace inside our nation brings us essentially the most happiness.”

Air passengers who bought a number of vacation spot tickets for the festive interval rose 50% in comparison with final yr, and lodge bookings in some counties have elevated, CCTV mentioned.

Beijing, Guangzhou, Harbin, Dali and Fuzhou had been well-liked locations for holidaymakers profiting from the eight-day public vacation.

However for younger folks on the lookout for work, the outlook is totally different.

Shi Zhenyue, 22, en path to Harbin for a vacation with pals earlier than travelling on to Wuxi in jap Jiangsu province to have a good time the New 12 months with household, hoped for an enchancment within the economic system so she may be a part of the workforce.

“If the economic system does get higher (within the new yr), I’ll have a greater probability of discovering a job, and I will not have to return to check for a grasp’s or doctoral diploma. And if the economic system improves, my father’s bonus (from work) will not be halved. All the things else is okay,” Shi mentioned.

Youth unemployment hit 18.8% final August, the best for the reason that authorities modified the best way they calculated the figures in December 2023. Though joblessness knowledge has proven some enchancment in latest months, hundreds of thousands of faculty graduates have been pushed into accepting low-paying work and even subsisting on their mother and father’ pensions.

Many have additionally deserted the stresses of massive cities for a less complicated life away from the hustle.

For 33-year-old He who lives in northeastern Liaoning province along with her fiance, the slower tempo of life is a consolation.

“As a result of we aren’t in a really huge metropolis like everybody else, we could not have an excessive amount of stress,” mentioned the small enterprise proprietor who solely gave her surname.

“We had additionally stayed within the huge metropolis for a time period after commencement, after which we selected to return to our residence city the place we really feel is friendlier, and likewise happier,” she mentioned.