China's annual Spring Festival travel rush – a 40-day period – also often referred to as the world's largest annual human migration, took off on Monday ahead of an extended Lunar New Year holiday.
This year's Lunar New Year, ushering in the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac, falls on Feb. 17 and will be accompanied by an extra-long nine-day public holiday in China, running from Feb. 15-23.
It's hoped a longer holiday (last year's break was eight days long) might prompt Chinese consumers to boost consumption by spending more on travel, meals, and more in this festival period.
Chinese consumers have been shaken by the country's uncertain economic outlook and would rather save than spend.
Homeowners have seen their assets depreciate in a yearslong property market slump, while weaker growth momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic has added to job insecurity. This said, a state planning official said last week that China expects a record 9.5 billion passenger trips to be made during the travel period, surpassing the 9.02 billion trips made last year.
"Why do I feel it's even more stressful to buy tickets this year compared to last year? For example, the flight back to my home is already sold out," said 32-year-old Liu, a traveller flying out of Guangzhou airport on Monday. "If you don't buy early, the price range fluctuates a lot, and can even double."
Major travel platforms reported Lunar New Year bookings for 2026 already surpassing last year's levels. According to data from Flight Master, as of mid-January, bookings for domestic flights during the holiday exceeded 4.13 million, up about 21% year-over-year.
Popular outbound destinations are concentrated in Southeast Asia, with those flights accounting for nearly 50% of the total and Thailand being among the leading destinations. Following a geopolitical spat between China and Japan late last year, routes to Japan have dropped sharply, down over 40%, according to Flight Master.
Domestically, culturally rich "intangible heritage towns," such as Huangshan in Anhui, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, Quanzhou in Fujian, Foshan in Guangdong and Zigong in Sichuan have emerged as popular destinations, according to data from online travel agency Qunar.
