Relax - China warns of snow storms on Lunar New Year travel peak

Relax

News

Article

China warns of snow storms on Lunar New Year travel peak

AFP | Fri, Feb 12 2010

Bad weather could spell potential travel chaos as millions head home by rail and road.

China warns of snow storms on Lunar New Year travel peak

Keywords

beijing

snow

storm

BEIJING - China on Friday warned that huge rain and snow storms would hit the north of the country this weekend on the eve of Lunar New Year, spelling potential travel chaos as millions head home by rail and road.

The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is China’s most important holiday, reuniting families around the vast nation and triggering an exodus believed to be the world’s largest annual human migration.

China’s Meteorological Administration said a cold front that forced airport and highway closures across the north on Thursday had eased off a little, but would return with a bang on Saturday.

“From New Year’s Eve on the 13th, large-scale rain and snow will return,” the agency warned.

“Everyone must make preparations for rain, snow and falling temperatures when returning home or going out to visit relatives and friends,” it added.

Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos seen when a massive cold wave and freezing rain hit southern and central China in 2008, crippling transport systems and stranding millions just as the travel rush got under way.

The government has said more than 650 million passenger trips have already been taken this year – a figure roughly equal to the number of tickets sold for various means of transport.

It has added that 210 million passengers are expected to take the train during the New Year period, which officially began late January. Nearly 30 million more will travel by air.

Aside from snow and rain, the weather agency said coastal areas had also been hit by strong winds in recent days.

As people scrambled at the last minute to secure train tickets home, police said they had detained more than 5,700 scalpers since the end of January, when an official crackdown was launched involving 450,000 police officers.

Authorities had confiscated more than 27,000 real tickets and over 5,900 fake ones on offer from scalpers, the Ministry of Public Security said.

AsiaOne Relax

Keywords

Related Photos & Videos

Interests

Related Stories

Related Tips