BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of Railways announced Friday that the country's lunar New Year's traveler peak season started on Jan. 18, six days ahead of its predicted arrival.

    That means this year the country's Spring Festival would last from Jan. 18 to March 2, six days longer than the previous schedule.

    The ministry said the total number of railway passengers stood at 3.96 million on Jan. 16.

    China's traditional Spring Festival starts on Feb. 7 and during the upcoming over-one-month's annual peak season, millions of people are on the move for family gatherings and then returning to their work cities and towns.

    "This year, before the Lunar New Year's eve, the passenger flow would possibly be bigger than the flow after the Lantern Festival -- the 15th day of the Lunar new year," sai...

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