China kicked off its 40-day Spring Festival travel rush on Tuesday (January 14), and authorities expect an increase in journeys this year, estimating a record 9 billion domestic trips will be made. - REUTERS
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00:00China's holiday travel rush got into full swing Tuesday.
00:06The 40-day Spring Festival saw airports and train stations packed with travellers.
00:11After a total 8.4 billion trips last year, authorities predict 2025 will see a record
00:189 billion domestic journeys.
00:20But this year's festival comes with China's economy in the doldrums.
00:25Students struggling to recover from years of pandemic lockdowns and a prolonged property
00:29slump.
00:30All that had some asking if the traditional travel rush could go quiet.
00:36At Beijing Railway Station, travellers were largely optimistic.
00:42This man says the mood in his hometown is good with holiday decorations going up.
00:48A student says they're hopeful an improving economy will boost their quality of life over
00:53the coming year.
00:55But officials may not be so sanguine.
00:58The government has rolled out a series of stimulus measures in recent months in a bid
01:03to boost demand.
01:04That includes interest rate cuts and expanded trading schemes for consumer goods.
01:10Travel demand at least seems to be holding up, with records expected across all modes
01:15of transport.
01:17Train trips are forecast to hit 510 million, with 90 million plane trips predicted, both
01:22being all-time highs.