Staff of Shanghai Railway Station helps passengers carry luggage with carts in 1983. (Xinhua/Zhang Liuren)
This year, the Spring Festival travel rush starts from Feb. 1 and ends on March 12.
The term Spring Festival travel rush, or "Chunyun", was first used in the 1980s. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, more and more Chinese leave hometown to work and study in other cities, and thus an annual travel peak occurs before and after the Spring Festival.
This year’s Spring Festival falls on Feb. 15.
Over the three decades, “Chunyun” has seen a lot of changes in many aspects, becoming an epitome of the country's enormous changes.