春運 (chūn yùn)

Transportation during the Spring Festival, called chunyun in Chinese, is an annual test on China's transportation systems.

中國人將“春節期間的運輸”簡稱為“春運”，它是對中國交通運輸系統的年度考驗。

春節，即中國農歷新年，通常始于公歷一月末或二月初，它是中國人最重要的節日，是家人及親朋好友團聚的日子。人們尤其希望在學習和工作之后趕回家中與家人一起吃年夜飯。

春運期間，數以億計的中國人都有在旅途奔波，因此，它給中國的交通部門造成了巨大的壓力。中國鐵道部和國家發改委在此期間會下發各類通知，要求運輸部門、地方各級部門、警察部門建立協調機制，制定各種措施應對緊急情況的發生，確保運輸效率，保證高峰季節的運輸得以順利完成。

Chunyun (Transportation during the Spring Festival)

Transportation during the Spring Festival, called Chunyun in Chinese, is an annual test on China's transportation systems.

The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls in late January or early February according to Gregorian calendar, is the most important festival for the Chinese as it is an occasion for reunions with family and friends. Particularly, people hope to return home from work or study to have a reunion dinner with families on the Lunar New Year's Eve.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese people are on journey as the Spring Festival travel season begins. Therefore, Chunyun has created enormous pressure on China's transportation sector. The Ministry of Railway and the National Development and Reform Commission usually issue circulars during the period, demanding that coordination mechanisms be established among transportation departments, different localities and police, and that countermeasures be made in place in case of emergencies to ensure efficiency and a complete success during the peak travel season.

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong January 12, 2011)