STORY: Experiencing Spring Festival Travel Rush at high-speed train station
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 14, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 15, 2025
LENGTH: 00:04:30
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Beijing South Railway Station
2. STANDUP 1 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
3. various of Beijing South Railway Station
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
5. STANDUP 2 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
7. STANDUP 3 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
8. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): VLADIMIR, Belarusian passenger
9. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): KIM, American passenger
10. various of Beijing South Railway Station
11. SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
12. SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): GAO, Shanghai passenger
13. SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): CHEN, Beijing passenger
14. SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): XU, Passenger
15. SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
16. various of the Spring Festival travel rush

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
"I'm here at Beijing South Railway Station on the very first day of the Spring Festival travel rush, the atmosphere is buzzing with thousands of people eagerly making their way home for the holidays."

The Spring Festival travel rush began on Tuesday. It's seen as the world's largest annual human migration, as many head back to reunite with family and celebrate China's most important festival.

The travel rush lasts 40 days and will continue through Feb. 22.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
"For the Spring Festival travel rush, we've opened our fast-track entrance hall in the underground transfer area, to facilitate passengers taking high-speed trains between Beijing and Shanghai, and Beijing and Tianjin."

STANDUP 2 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
"The station features a massive arrivals board as well as a departures board, and they conveniently switch into English. So you can easily find your gate. There are many gates here. It's a huge station, but it's not too overwhelming because everything is very organized."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
"At Beijing South Railway Station, electronic tickets are now available. You can use your ID card or passport to enter the station by scanning them at the automatic ticket gates. This year, to improve the travel experience for foreign passengers, we've added a multilingual real-time interactive translation device at the central service desk to facilitate communication."

STANDUP 3 (English): ROGER LOTT, Xinhua reporter
"Now they're beginning to board. It's a streamlined process. People can just scan their ID cards. They don't even need a ticket to board. If you need assistance or you're a foreigner needing to scan your passport, you can go through here, and they will help you enter."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): VLADIMIR, Belarusian passenger
"(Do you like the trains?)
It's really very nice trains, high-speed trains. It's very suitable.
(Today is the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush. Have you ever traveled at this time of year before?)
I visited China too many times. I don't know how much exactly, and during the Spring Festival also. 
Of course, it's a very great event in China, because it's very great, really."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): KIM, American passenger
"(Have you taken the train before?)
This is my second time taking the train. They're very fast."

Passengers are not only impressed by the speed and efficiency but also by the overall service.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
"In our elevated waiting area, we have added four free charging stations on top of the existing ones. These are provided for emergency charging of electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones, enhancing the waiting experience for passengers. Additionally, in the elevated waiting area and our dedicated care service area, our service teams offer comprehensive shuttle services for passengers in need, including the elderly, children, the sick, people with disabilities, and pregnant travelers."

SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): GAO, Shanghai passenger
"I think it's quite nice traveling during this year's Spring Festival travel rush. It's not particularly crowded, and it's very easy to buy tickets. In previous years, it was harder to get tickets, but I bought today's ticket yesterday, and there were plenty of tickets available. I think China's railways are very developed now, and the overall service is also very good and convenient."

SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): CHEN, Beijing passenger
"I feel that this year's Spring Festival travel rush is even more orderly compared to previous years."

SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): XU, Passenger
"Compared to my usual high-speed rail travel experiences, I don't feel there's much of a difference. However, I did notice that they've added a new railing in the queuing area, which I think is quite reasonable. I think this is a good improvement. Also, student tickets no longer require in-person verification; they can now be verified online, which is much more convenient for students like us."

SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): ZHANG XIAO, Staff member at Beijing South Railway Station
"Our passenger volume increases every year. For the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush, Beijing South Railway Station is expected to handle 155,000 passengers daily, an average increase of about 20,000 compared to the daily average."

This year's Spring Festival travel rush is expected to see nine billion passenger trips, with both rail and air travel hitting record highs. Over 510 million passenger trips will be handled by the country's railways, averaging 12.75 million trips daily, a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)