The Ministry of Transport said that 609m journeys had been made by bus or railway between the start of the Spring Festival on 30 January and 8 February, up 8.5 per cent from the equivalent period in 2009. A total of 63.3m journeys were made by bus or railway on 8 February despite weather disruptions in some regions. Snow and heavy fog hit northern China over the weekend of 6-7 February, closing expressways and delaying flights.

A total of 2.54bn journeys are expected to be made during the 40-day mass passenger transportation period. In January, the Ministry of Railways forecast that China’s railways expect to transport 210m passengers over the Chinese New Year, up 9.5 per cent year-on-year.