Episode Details

Construction worker Liu, seated inside train K4069, felt a rush of excitement as the platform clock at Beijing West Railway Station struck 12:40 am and the whistle blew on cue. He was on board the first passenger train to depart from the Chinese capital as part of the Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, which started on Monday.

今天（2月2日）凌晨0点40分，北京西站站台上的时钟指针定格，汽笛准时鸣响。坐在K4069次列车上的建筑工人刘师傅，心潮随之澎湃。他乘坐的这趟列车，是今年春运首日从首都北京开出的首班旅客列车。2026年春运自本周一正式启动。

"I've been busy all year, and now I can finally visit home," Liu said."Knowing that this is the first train to depart from Beijing during chunyun makes my journey more thrilling."

"忙了一整年，终于能回家看看了，"刘师傅说，"知道这是北京春运发出的第一趟车，感觉这趟旅程更激动了。"

The packed K4069, a temporary train service added for the holiday season to link Beijing with Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province, mirrored the sheer scale of passenger movement by rail, road, air and sea on the first day of the 40-day travel rush, which will continue till March 13.

这趟临时加开、连接北京与江西省会南昌的K4069次列车满载旅客。它的开行，如同一个缩影，映照出为期40天的春运在首日便已展现的庞大客流规模——春运将持续至3月13日，人们的出行通过铁路、公路、航空和水路全面展开。

According to data collected by the Ministry of Transport, China recorded an estimated 188 million cross-regional trips on Monday, up 13 percent year-on-year. While the railways handled about 12 million trips, civil aviation authorities recorded roughly 2.19 million. The traffic was heavier on highways, as many Chinese people prefer to drive home or to holiday destinations to mark Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 17 this year.

交通运输部数据显示，春运首日全国跨区域人员流动量预计达1.88亿人次，比去年同期增长13%。其中铁路客运量约1200万人次，民航客运量约219万人次。公路交通更为繁忙，因为今年春节在2月17日，许多人选择自驾返乡或出游。

The Spring Festival travel rush in China is the world's largest recurring movement of people. This year, the overall scale and the daily peaks are both expected to surpass previous records. Official estimates suggest that chunyun will generate a record 9.5 billion cross-regional trips, with rail journeys expected to total about 540 million and air travel about 95 million. As the public holiday period runs from Feb 15 to 23, the concentration of trips is likely to be higher during these days.

中国的春运是全球规模最大的周期性人口迁徙。今年春运的整体规模和单日高峰均有望创下历史新高。官方预计，今年春运期间跨区域人员流动量将达创纪录的95亿人次，其中铁路客运量预计约5.4亿人次，民航客运量约9500万人次。由于春节假期从2月15日持续至23日，这段时间的出行将尤为集中。

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