Extensive Reading Lesson 116

春运 (chūn yùn)
Transportation during the Spring Festival

春运 (chūn yùn)

 

中国人将“春节期间的运输”简称为“春运”，它是对中国交通运输系统的年度考验。

春节，即中国农历新年，通常始于公历一月末或二月初，它是中国人最重要的节日，是家人及亲朋好友团聚的日子。人们尤其希望在学习和工作之后赶回家中与家人一起吃年夜饭。

春运期间，数以亿计的中国人都有在旅途奔波，因此，它给中国的交通部门造成了巨大的压 力。中国铁道部和国家发改委在此期间会下发各类通知，要求运输部门、地方各级部门、警察部门建立协调机制，制定各种措施应对紧急情况的发生，确保运输效 率，保证高峰季节的运输得以顺利完成。

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.