A train departs from Dalian Railway Station in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, Feb 1, 2018. The 2018 Spring Festival travel rush, known as the chunyun, started on Thursday and will last till March 12. About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the chunyun. The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Feb 16 this year. (Photo/Xinhua)
Change No. 2: Bigger role of bullet trains
A total of 57.5 percent of the railway trips during the Spring Festival travel rush will be undertaken on bullet trains this year, up 4.8 percent year-on-year.
In addition to the 3,819 pairs of trains in regular operation every day, another 1,152 and 1,330 train services will be scheduled before and after the festival respectively, according to China Railway Corporation. High-speed trains will make up 43 percent of these additional train services, up from the 36 percent last year.