Economic woes not breaking the deal as China’s Lunar New Year travel rush begins By Reuters

From Liz Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) – The annual rush of travel for China’s Lunar New Year celebrations officially kicked off on Tuesday, with many taking a mental break from worries about the future to reunite with family or go on holiday.

The peak travel season in the world’s second-largest economy began with a train leaving Beijing a few minutes after midnight, taking early risers from the capital to Hefei in eastern Anhui province.

Most people want to be with their family for the traditional New Year’s Eve reunion dinner, which this year falls on January 29.

The 40-day travel season will last until February 22, during which authorities estimate a record 9 billion domestic trips will be made. The forecast matches the estimate for 2024, although only 8.4 billion trips were actually made during last year’s festivities.

Rail traffic is expected to exceed 510 million passengers, while more than 90 million air passengers are expected. However, the number of private vehicle trips is expected to reach 7.2 billion trips, or about 80% of the total flow of domestic passengers, national broadcaster CCTV reported.

Most of China’s 1.4 billion people will be celebrating this year’s Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, as the economy struggles to sustain a sustained recovery hampered by weak domestic demand and a prolonged housing crisis.

Some travelers said they won’t let the state of the economy put a damper on the upcoming festivities.

“Although the economy has slowed down, I think the country as a whole is taking (the economic situation) into account and we, as ordinary people, are living well (day to day),” said Wang Zhixu, a 55-year-old who works in asset management services. , and he was at the station in Beijing.

“Peace in our country brings the greatest happiness.”

Air travelers who bought tickets to multiple destinations for the holiday period rose by 50% compared to last year, and hotel bookings increased in some countries, CCTV reported.

Beijing, Guangzhou, Harbin, Dali and Fuzhou were popular destinations for tourists making the most of the eight-day public holiday.

But for young people looking for work, the outlook is different.

Shi Zhenyue, 22, on her way to Harbin for a vacation with friends before traveling to Wuxi in eastern Jiangsu province to celebrate the New Year with her family, hoped the economy would improve so she could join the workforce.

“If the economy picks up (in the new year), I’ll have a better chance of finding a job and won’t have to go back for a master’s or Ph.D. And if the economy picks up, my Dad’s bonus (from work) won’t be cut in half, everything else is fine Shi said.

Youth unemployment reached 18.8% last August, the highest since the authorities changed the way they calculated the figures in December 2023. Although unemployment figures have shown some improvement in recent months, millions of university graduates have been forced to accept low-paid jobs or even surviving on his parents’ pension.

Many have also left the stress of big cities for a simpler life away from the hustle and bustle.

For He, 33, who lives in the northeastern province of Liaoning with her fiancé, the slower pace of life is a comfort.

“Because we’re not in a big city like everyone else, maybe we don’t have too much pressure,” said the small business owner, who gave only her last name.

“We also stayed in the big city for a while after graduation and then decided to move back to our hometown where we feel friendlier and also happier,” she said.