China's Greater Bay Area launches first nighttime train service for 2026 Spring Festival travel rush

Southern China's Great Bay Area on Sunday launched the first nighttime high-speed train service to ease the mounting pressure of the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush for 2026, which officially started a week ago.

At 22:12 on Sunday, the first overnight train departed from the bustling Guangzhou South Railway Station in Guangdong Province, transporting a large number of passengers on a four-hour journey to Wuhan, the capital city of central China's Hubei Province.

According to travelers, the introduction of the nighttime train service has provided them with extra travel options.

"The traffic on our way here wasn't as bad as it is during the day, so I think we've saved some time," said a passenger about the nighttime service.

Since the start of the Spring Festival travel rush, known as Chunyun, railway passenger traffic across the Greater Bay Area has continued to surge. Starting from Feb 8, China Railway Guangzhou Group has been handling more than 2 million passengers per day, and this high volume is expected to continue through Feb 15.

To manage the peak demand during the pre-holiday rush, the Guangzhou Railway Group plans to operate a total of 2,472 nighttime high-speed trains, with more than 400 additional services on peak travel days. These trains will connect southern hubs like Guangzhou and Shenzhen to major destinations including Wuhan, Chongqing, and Nanchang. During this period, most service areas at Guangzhou South Railway Station will remain open 24 hours a day.

"To meet passengers' needs, all service facilities at Guangzhou South Station are operating round-the-clock, ensuring ample supplies of hot water, food, and more. Efforts are being made to coordinate with local transportation departments to extend the service hours of other transit options, collectively enhancing the 'last mile' experience for travelers," said Zeng Yongxian, a staff member at Guangzhou South Railway Station under China Railway Guangzhou Group.

China's Greater Bay Area launches first nighttime train service for 2026 Spring Festival travel rush

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO