China's 'Chunyun' return travel hectic amid snow, rain, fog

Snow, icy rain and fog caused delays of flights and highway closures in many parts of China on Tuesday, the last day of the week-long Lunar New Year Festival, when millions of travellers are on road back to schools or work.

The return travel spree is even heavier than the pre-holiday migration known as "Chunyun" in Chinese.

Taking place annually fourteen days ahead of the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, the travel spree which features millions of people traveling home to reunite with family in the Chinese tradition is considered the world's largest human migration, when 2.8 billion trips were forecast to hit road during the 40-day travel season till March 16.

China Central Meteorological Station on Tuesday forecast snow fall in the most of northern regions, and rainy and foggy weather in most of the southern parts.

In northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, passengers flocked to railway stations as snow has disrupted air flights and major highways have been closed due to icy road.

Wang Shaojie, deputy head of the Harbin Railway Station, said the station has added train shuttles to Beijing and neighboring Jilin Province to help transfer passengers.

Nationwide, people on return trips to cities have been forecast to peak from Tuesday to Friday.

The Beijing Southern Railway Station, the largest of four railway terminals in the national capital, would see 110,000 arrivals on Tuesday and 130,000 on Wednesday, up from 100,000 recorded on Monday.

Highways linking to the capital are also heavily congested on Tuesday as people rushed to catch up the toll free hours, which are to be expired on midnight Tuesday.