* Around 2.98bn trips are expected to be made by train, bus and air
       over 40 days
     * To cope with the demand, an extra 177 high-speed train services
       will be available

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   Buses are the most common form of transport – with eight in 10 taking a
   coach home this year – but the numbers are expected to fall for the
   first time as China’s high-speed rail network expands, authorities
   said.

   More people have switched to using China Railway High-speed (CRH)
   trains – which reach speeds of 220mph – and planes to get home, the
   Ministry of Transport said.
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   year during the travel period, an 8.8 per cent increase on last year

   To cope with the extra demand, an extra 177 high-speed train services
   will be available during the travel period to carry an additional
   100,000 passengers each day.
--
   © REUTERS

   China Railway High-speed bullet trains are seen at a maintenance base
   in Wuhan, Hubei province, at the beginning of the Spring Festival
   travel rush. China's high-speed rail network is the largest in the
   world, and seen by Beijing as a symbol of the country's advance
   © Getty Images
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   on the Beijing-Shanghai line to 350km (217 miles) per hour, six years
   after a fatal accident led to a speed cap. The speed limit was reduced
   to 300 kilometres per hour after 40 people died in a high-speed train
   crash near Wenzhou in July 2011
   © VCG via Getty Images

   Buses are the most common form of transport, but the numbers are
   expected to fall for the first time as China’s high-speed rail network
   continues its expansion. The increase in the speed limit cuts the
   1,318-kilometre (819-mile) Beijing-Shanghai journey to 4 hours and 28
--
   the CRH bullet trains – which reach speeds of 220mph – and planes to
   get home. Last year, China's rail tracks reached 127,000km in length,
   25,000km of which is for high-speed railway
   © VCG via Getty Images

   To cope with the extra demand, an extra 177 high-speed train services
   will be available during the travel period to carry an additional
   100,000 passengers each day. China's ambitious plans to create even
--
   © VCG via Getty Images

   China's high-speed rail expansion - which has cost hundreds of billions
   of dollars - has seen a series of scandals and widespread allegations
   of corruption, with accusations that safety has been compromised for
--

   China's railway network reached 127,000km in length at the end of 2017,
   including 25,000km of which is high-speed railway
   © VCG via Getty Images

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   A decline in the number of bus trips taken is expected in China due to
   the rapid development of high-speed rail and airline services
   © VCG via Getty Images

   Policemen patrol around CRH bullet trains to ensure the Spring Festival
   travel rush goes smoothly. China is home to the world’s longest
   high-speed rail network which competes heavily with domestic airlines.
   Of China’s 31 provinces and regions, 29 are served by high-speed rail
   with only the regions of Tibet and Ningxia in the northwest yet to be
   connected