China sees surges in return trips as Spring Festival holiday comes to end

China's Spring Festival travel rush has reached its halfway point, with cross-regional trips totaling 4.8 billion, setting new daily records as return-to-work traffic flows pick up the pace, according to data released on Sunday.

The 40-day travel rush, known as "chunyun" in Chinese, runs from Jan 14 to Feb 22 this year. It is considered the world's largest annual human migration and coincides with China's biggest traditional festival celebrations, a time when Chinese people return home for family reunions to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which fell on Jan 29 this year.

Statistics show that China recorded 4.8 billion cross-regional trips from Jan 14 to Feb 2, a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase, with over 300 million trips made daily for three consecutive days from Friday to Monday, all surpassing last year's levels.

As return travel is peaking, railway passenger trips were estimated to reach 14.5 million on Sunday, up 1.2 million from the previous day. In response to freezing rain and snow, China Railway Nanchang Bureau Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the China Railway, the country's railway operator, deployed 30 de-icing trains to conduct contact wire thermal running to remove ice.

"In sections of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway prone to icing due to high humidity and low temperatures, such as Jiujiang and Nanchang, we have four teams on 24/7 standby, ready to respond," said Shi Weibin, deputy head of the operations division at Yingtan section of China Railway Nanchang Bureau.

On highways, about 300 million passenger trips were recorded nationwide on Sunday. Transportation and power authorities have ramped up efforts to improve charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles (NEVs).

Measures include upgrading charging pile capacity and deploying emergency charging stations to ease the charging pressure at highway service areas. In cities of Huai'an and Xuzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, local traffic and power departments have used big data from the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) to predict peak demand, issue charging guides, and direct vehicles to nearby service areas to reduce wait times.

"I planned my route using the Spring Festival charging guides before setting off, which helped me avoid peak hours and save time," said an NEV driver.

Air travel remained strong, with 2.38 million passenger trips recorded on Sunday. Airlines and airports have maximized wide-body aircraft operations to accommodate rising demand.

Meanwhile, authorities in south China's Guangdong and Hainan provinces have strengthened traffic management on key waterways, including the Qiongzhou Strait. Maritime officials are providing 24-hour supervision for roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) passenger ferries and issuing regular updates to ensure smooth operations.

China sees surges in return trips as Spring Festival holiday comes to end

China sees surges in return trips as Spring Festival holiday comes to end

China sees surges in return trips as Spring Festival holiday comes to end

People in Yemen are struggling for survival as the country continues to grapple with a deepening labor crisis after more than a decade of war, with many lamenting the lack of opportunities which are leaving the livelihoods of many hanging in the balance.

As the world marks International Workers' Day on Friday, the situation in Yemen seems all the more poignant as millions of people are finding it increasingly hard to find any work at all.

In the crowded streets of the capital Sana'a, workers gather on street corners, waiting for jobs that may never come. Ahmed Muawadah is one of the many who are sitting here, watching passing cars, desperately hoping that one will stop and offer work.

"Our suffering is that we sit here without work. Sometimes we spend a whole month without working, except for one day, or just one day every two weeks. Work is very limited, almost non-existent. I have nine children, and I only work one day a month. I cannot support them. Jobs have completely disappeared. If opportunities were opened for us, I and all the workers would work," said Muawadah.

This individual story reflects a broader reality affecting an estimated eight million workers across Yemen. Many of them are hoping to receive a daily wage, but the challenges are mounting in an increasingly strained labor market.

Activity in key sectors such as construction and services has dropped sharply, largely due to the suspension of several international initiatives, including those backed by the World Bank. As a result, income opportunities have narrowed for those who rely primarily on daily wages.

Meanwhile, the widening impact of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the disruption caused along the key Strait of Hormuz -- a key shipping route for global trade -- has brought more misery in recent weeks.

"There has been a significant decline in business activity as a result of the war, the blockade, and the disruption of work. Foreign capital has also left the country, and large companies have moved out of Yemen and stopped their operations. This is one of the main reasons," said Abdul Karim Al, secretary general of the General Federation of Trade Unions in Sana'a.

Yemen residents struggling to survive as work dries up amid deepening labor crisis