Photos: Spring Festival kicks off with over an estimated 3 billion travelers this year
January 31, 2013
A lady wearing a panda costume on the first day of the Spring Festival travel season rides a train back to Cangzhou in Hefei from Beijing. The lady, together with three other friends, said she would like to feel the special atmosphere of the Spring Festival traveling in this way. AFP PHOTOSTR/AFP/Getty Images
People queue up to get their packages weighed at the Sheung Shui train station prior to their journey to mainland China on January 30, 2013. PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese travelers arrive to board trains as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at a Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with their families. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
Beijing residents wearing masks take a bus during severe pollution on January 30, 2013 in Beijing, China. The fourth round of heavy smog to hit Beijing in one month has sent more people to the hospital with respiratory illnesses and prompted calls for legislation to curb pollution. The haze choking many Chinese cities covers a total area of 1.3 million square kilometers, the China's Ministry of Environmental Protection said Tuesday. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
A child waves to his father from a train as it leaves from Hangzhou railway station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province January 27, 2013. The 2013 Spring Festival travel peak period began on Saturday and will last till March 6. According to the Ministry of Transport, over 3.1 billion people are expected to travel via road or waterways during this period, a year-on-year increase of 4 percent, local media reported. REUTERS/William Hong
Chinese people prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Chinese travelers arrive to board trains as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with the families left behind. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese people wearing face masks prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Chinese commuters wear face masks as they pass by the new CCTV building during heavy air pollution in Beijing on January 30, 2013. Beijing urged residents to stay indoors as emergency measures were rolled out aimed at countering a heavy cloud of smog blanketing the Chinese capital and swathes of the country. The municipal government said children, the elderly and people sensitive to poor air quality should remain indoors, after authorities announced the closure of 103 factories and ordered 30 percent of official cars off the road. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
A men rides a bicycle as tourists waiting the flag-raising ceremony during severe pollution at Tiananmen Square on January 29, 2013 in Beijing, China. The 4th dense fog envelops Beijing with pollution at hazardous levels in January. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
A little girl wears the cartoon mask at the Tiananmen Square during severe pollution on January 29, 2013 in Beijing, China. The 4th dense fog envelops Beijing with pollution at hazardous levels in January. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
Workers carrying boxes walk past the fog-enveloped National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest", at Beijing Olympic park, on a foggy day in Beijing, January 31, 2013. Beijing temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took 30 percent of government vehicles off roads to combat high air pollution, state media reported on Tuesday, but the capital's air remained smoggy despite the measures. REUTERS/China Daily
A little tourist and his parents play on the ground with frozen ice at the Tiananmen Square during severe pollution on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. Heavy smog that has choked Beijing for the last five days weakened slightly on Thursday due to a light rainfall, although the capital's air remains heavily polluted. The haze choking many Chinese cities covers a total area of 1.43 million square kilometers, the China's Ministry of Environmental Protection said Wednesday. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
Tourists walk on the Tiananmen Square during severe pollution on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. Heavy smog that has choked Beijing for the last five days weakened slightly on Thursday due to a light rainfall, although the capital's air remains heavily polluted. The haze choking many Chinese cities covers a total area of 1.43 million square kilometers, the China's Ministry of Environmental Protection said Wednesday. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
Chinese people wearing face masks prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Cars drive through Guomao bridge on a heavy hazy day during winter in Beijing's central business district, January 30, 2013. Beijing temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took 30 percent of government vehicles off roads to combat dangerously high air pollution, state media reported on Tuesday, but the capital's air remained hazardous despite the measures. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Residents walk past a parking lot packed with vehicles in Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. Endless lines of slow-moving cars emerge like apparitions and disappear into the gloom of the thick smog that has shrouded Beijing for weeks and reduced its skyline to blurry gray shapes. With more than 12 million cars sold in China last year, motor vehicles have emerged as the chief culprit for the throat-choking air pollution in big cities especially Beijing.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Migrant workers arrive at the Beijing Railway Station with their luggage on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Chinese people wearing face masks prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Chinese people wearing face masks prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Passengers sleep as they wait for their trains outside the train station in Hefei, Anhui province January 26, 2013. The 2013 Spring Festival travel peak began on Saturday and will last till March 6. According to the Ministry of Transport, over 3.1 billion people are expected to travel via road or water during this period, a year-on-year increase of 4 percent, local media reported. REUTERS/Stringer
Chinese people prepare to travel at the Beijing Railway Station on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Spring Festival travel season runs from January 26 to March 6 and according to reports road passenger transport in China is estimated at 3.1 billion people during this time of year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Armed Chinese police (C) stand guard as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with the families left behind. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese travelers arrive to board trains as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with the families left behind. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese travelers arrive to board trains as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with the families left behind. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese travelers queue to buy tickets as the annual Lunar New Year exodus begins at Beijing train station on January 26, 2013. The holiday also known as the Spring Festival sees tens of millions of migrant workers who provide the labour in the country's prosperous cities return to their villages and towns to spend time with the families left behind. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
This picture taken on January 26, 2013, the first day of Spring Festival travel season, shows a lady wearing a panda costume (C) queuing up in the waiting room to get on her train back to Cangzhou in Hefei from Beijing. The lady, together with other three female friends, said she would like to feel the special atmosphere of the Spring Festival traveling in this way. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTOSTR/AFP/Getty Images