Blizzards and extreme weather could disrupt China’s Lunar New Year travel

Snowstorms, freezing rain and heavy rainfall expected to affect much of the country during the holiday, also known as Spring Festival
The ‘complex’ conditions could have ‘significant impact’ on transport during the 40-day travel rush period, according to meteorological agency

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 6:00am, 31 Jan 2024

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Snowstorms and other extreme weather could disrupt transport for the hundreds of millions travelling across China during the Lunar New Year travel period, known as chun yun.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on Tuesday that “complex” winter weather across the country, including rain and snow, could have “a significant impact” on transport during this year’s holiday travel period, which began on January 26 and will end on March 5.

Northern China, including the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Liaoning and the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, were hit by a blizzard on Tuesday, according to the CMA.

Meanwhile, parts of Zhejiang province in the east and Guangdong province in the south were blanketed by heavy fog.

More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year

According to the CMA, the worst is yet to come as northern China will continue to experience snowstorms, while areas further south along the Yangtze River will be hit by heavy rain starting on Wednesday.

Freezing rain is forecast to arrive in central and eastern China on Thursday and last for four days, the CMA said.

The freezing rain is expected to hit parts of the provinces of Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hunan and Guizhou, potentially affecting transport, telecommunications and agriculture production.

The CMA said this year’s Lunar New Year weather could be the most “complex” since 2008. A deadly winter storm that year killed 107 people, left more than 5.8 million passengers stranded and disrupted basic necessities such as water and power supply for more than 100 million people, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Beijing has repeatedly called for safeguarding safety and social stability ahead of the Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, which falls on February 10.

01:19

Over 900 residents displaced after landslide in southwest China, 34 confirmed dead

China has already suffered several weather-related disasters this winter.

A total of 44 people were killed in a landslide in the southwestern province of Yunnan on January 22, which was caused in part by rain and snow in the region, according to state news agency Xinhua.

China is hoping the eight-day public holiday will inject some momentum into its sluggish post-pandemic economy.

The country’s transport ministry said earlier this month that it expected a record 9 billion trips to be made during the 40-day chun yun travel period, which is considered the world’s biggest annual human migration.

Major travel agencies have reported bookings exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Travel company Fliggy said in a January 16 report that hotel bookings via its platform were up 160 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, with group tours up by 34 per cent. Fliggy is owned by the Alibaba Group, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

Average prices for domestic flights have soared to the highest levels since 2019, Tongcheng Travel said earlier this month.

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