C919 Takes Flight During Spring Festival Travel Rush, Replacing Motorcycles for Migrant Workers

Truck driver Zhou Qiang was excited to experience his first flight on China's domestically developed C919 aircraft. He was returning home for Spring Festival celebrations after completing his final delivery. The flight from Guangzhou to Chengdu cut his travel time from seven hours by train to just two and a half hours.

China is currently in the midst of its annual 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, known as chunyun. This period sees hundreds of millions of people traveling for family reunions. Airlines such as China Eastern, Air China, and China Southern have added the C919 aircraft to their fleets, and 16 such jets are in service this year.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has forecast that the number of air passengers during this year's chunyun is likely to exceed 90 million, potentially setting a new record.

In the past, many migrant workers braved the cold by traveling home on motorcycles. However, more and more people now choose high-speed trains or planes. This shift coincides with the launch of high-speed rail lines connecting Guangdong with regions like Guizhou and Guangxi.

This year, railways are expected to handle over 510 million passenger trips, averaging 12.75 million daily – a 5.5-percent increase from 2024. Road trips are forecast to reach 7.2 billion.

Huang Xiaoyan, who works in the plastic manufacturing industry, used to endure a grueling 30-hour journey on two wheels from Foshan to her rural home in Guangxi. Now, she and her brother drive home in his car. "Almost no one I know rides motorcycles home now," she said.