As the 2025 Spring Festival approaches, food markets in several cities across the country are experiencing a shopping spree, with consumers flocking to snap up festive goods.
The Red Star agricultural products wholesale market in Changsha City of central China's Hunan Province offers fruits, fresh produce and other agricultural and sideline products from 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as 21 countries and regions around the world. The market has recently seen a surge in sales volume.
"Since the New Year's Day, our sales volume has surged. For instance, yesterday we got eight trucks, and the volume will continue to grow," said Zhang Zhibin, a vendor at the market.
Statistics showed that, since the beginning of 2025, the Red Star market has seen a daily fruit trading volume of 12,000 tons, peaking at 20,000 tons. Vegetable trading averaged 5,000 tons per day, with peaks reaching 8,000 tons.
Zhoushan International Aquatic City, a major shopping center for aquatic products in Zhoushan City of east China's Zhejiang province, is also seeing a sales boom, with seafood orders increasing both online and offline.
Despite rising trade prices for some products, market demand remains strong.
"Currently, we purchase over 5,000 kilograms of goods daily, and then sell them to Wenzhou, Fujian, and Ningbo. The market [prices] are roughly in line with previous years, and the demand is high. Sometimes I got more than 100 orders a day," said Yang Yihua, a vendor at the aquatic city.
China's Spring Festival market buzzes as holiday approaches
China's railway network is expected to manage more than 510 million passenger trips during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, according to an official on Wednesday.
At a press conference in Beijing, officials from several departments briefed the overall situation and work arrangement of the 40-day travel rush, which runs from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22 this year.
The travel rush, also known as "Chunyun", is a period of high transportation demand coinciding with China's largest annual holiday, the Spring Festival, a time where many people head home for family reunions while celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan 29 this year.
Zhu Wenzhong, deputy director of China State Railway Group's passenger transport department, said that the number of passengers by train will grow steadily, and is expected to exceed 510 million, with an average of 12.75 million per day, an increase of 5.5 percent from 2024.
The railway system is going to tap on the transportation potential and maximize passenger transportation capacity.
"We will focus on increasing the transport capacity in places with concentrated passenger flows during the Spring Festival travel rush, make overall arrangements for trains in less busier sections, maintain the scale of trains running at normal speeds, as well as continue opening non-profit 'slow trains' and those for rural revitalization, so as to facilitate people's travel. More than 14,000 passenger trains will be arranged daily, with the addition of around 500,000 seats every day. The seating capacity can increase by about four percent year on year, so as to meet the traveling needs of passengers to the best of our capacity," said Zhu.
The railway departments will take measures to ensure the ticketing needs of passengers, especially key groups such as university students and migrant workers. Main railway stations across the country will set up fast lanes, mother-and-baby waiting rooms and medical aid posts.
Moreover, the authorities will also prioritize the transportation of coal used for power generation and heating, along with key supplies like daily necessities, grains and other farm produce, as well as fertilizers.
Inspection and maintenance on key rail equipment have also been conducted in advance, so as to ensure the orderly and smooth railway operation during the Spring Festival travel rush.
China’s railway to handle 510 million passenger trips in 2025 Spring Festival travel rush
