Millions in China celebrate the Lunar New Year

Millions in China celebrate the Lunar New Year
A performer blows fire during Lunar New Year celebrations at Chinatown in Binondo, Manila, Philippines, 17 February, 2026. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
Reuters

Hundreds of millions of people criss-cross China during Lunar New Year holidays to reunite with families in their hometowns or for sight-seeing in an extended festive period, making it the world's largest annual human migration.

The Lunar New Year travel rush, or "Chunyun" in Chinese, is often seen as a barometre for the country's economic health and a pressure test of its vast transport system.

This year's peak travel period began on 2 February and will run for 40 days.

However, the official Spring Festival public holidays, as the new year celebrations are known, will run from 17-25 February. Then the finale is a Lantern Festival on 3 March.

The Spring Festival itself was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

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