At that moment, the phone screen lit up.
That was not sent by WeChat, but a text message sent by Railway 12306. Your eyes are fixed on that line of words, and in an instant, your heartbeat suddenly stops, as if you missed half a beat - it clearly says "ticket issued". Just these three words are more beautiful than any sweet words in the world. You couldn't help but subconsciously glance at the calendar, which showed February 4th. There were still more than ten days before the Spring Festival. However, for the matter of "being able to go home", this moment was only a 100 millionth of a second confirmation.
100 million votes.
Behind this flamboyant figure thrown by China Railway Group, there are 100 million anxious updates, 100 million devout prayers, and 100 million trembling questions like "Are there any tickets left?" Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, etc., these city names are jumping on the pre-sale list. They are not just place names, but the starting and ending points that countless people long to go back to in their dreams, but now want to escape.
That way home called the "popular section"
Shenzhen to Hong Kong. Guangzhou to Nanning. Beijing to Harbin.
You see, how smart is big data? It condenses the simplest human emotions into cold "hot intervals." However, who cares? You only care about the ticket you grabbed, whether it is a hard seat or a sleeper, window or aisle. In fact, it doesn't matter whether there are seats or not, as long as you can get on the bus.
That day was February 3rd. There were 10.946 million people like you who were absorbed into the belly of the steel dragon and rumbled towards a direction called "home". Beijing has sent 472,000 tourists. Among these 472,000 people, how many carry Daoxiangcun bought for their parents in their backpacks, and how many carry nothing but fatigue and the pitiful balance of year-end bonuses after tax is deducted.
Surplus votes is the most luxurious word in the world
You open 12306 and check.
From February 5th to February 9th, there are enough tickets left for traveling from Shanghai to Nanjing, and from Chengdu to Chongqing. It's really good. Those people who shuttle back and forth between city clusters are really happy. They can start their trip at any time and return home at any time, just like visiting a neighbor's house.
But where is the ticket you want?
From Wuhan to Shanghai, there are remaining votes; from Beijing to Shanghai, there are also remaining votes. But the exact train you need to take, the one that will get you to your last hot dumpling in time for New Year's Eve, is always on standby. Candidate, what a cruel word. It first makes you hopeful, and then makes you gradually fall into despair in this hope.
Night high-speed rail: a light for people returning home at night
The railway department said it has added nighttime high-speed trains.
Did you know that the high-speed train running at night is a very magical existence? It specially accepts those who cannot get tickets during the day, and those who have to set off late at night. The world outside the car window is completely dark, and only the dim lights inside the carriage are lit. In the yellow light, the flight attendant dimmed the lights and lowered the volume of the radio. You leaned on the seat. The elder brother next to you had already fallen asleep and snored slightly. His head was shaking with the movement of the train, and he almost leaned on your shoulder several times.
You didn't hide.
Because you know, everyone is in a hurry.
According to reports, the Chengdu Bureau of China Railway has prepared eye masks and earplugs for passengers in need, so that they can sleep peacefully even during late-night journeys. This is a recent change in this year’s Spring Festival. From "you have to be able to walk" to "you can walk well", the railway department finally starts to care about whether you are sleepy, hungry and cold on the road.
Those who cannot go back
But there are also people who can't get tickets.
From February 10th to 14th, this is the peak passenger flow period before the holiday. There are enough tickets left to travel from Shanghai to Nanjing. From Chengdu to Chongqing, the number of remaining tickets is also sufficient. It’s still these two locations. The advantages of the Yangtze River Delta and Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomerations are fully revealed at this time - you never have to worry about not being able to return, because the distance is really too close.
But what about those who are going back to Guiyang from Guangzhou? Are you going back to Jiamusi from Beijing?
From Guangzhou to Guiyang, it is a popular section. From Beijing to Harbin, it is also a popular section. A journey of several thousand kilometers, with a small ticket, becomes the longest distance in the world.
Some people got up at three o'clock in the morning to brush their tickets, some brought the whole family together to perform waiting operations, and some even started to study the curve of "buy long, sit short" to save the country. Are you asking if it's worth it?
worth.
Because at the end of the road, there is someone waiting for you to go home.
Spring Festival transportation is more than just Spring Festival transportation
In fact, this year's Spring Festival is unique. It was celebrated in mid-February, the latest in the past ten years. People who are moving students, people who are returning from work, and people who are visiting relatives are all gathered together. Relevant personnel from the China Railway Group said that the pressure on transportation is greater than in previous years.
Can there be less pressure?
But do you know that under such huge pressure, the railway department also carried out other projects. They have opened the "Panda Special Train" and tourist trains such as "Haoke Shandong Qilu No. 1". They transformed the "flow" of Spring Festival travel into the "retention" of the tourism economy.
Today's Spring Festival travel is no longer as simple as just going home. Rather, it includes visits between relatives and friends, a form of tourism, the ups and downs of the economy, and the spread of culture over time. Some people are rushing towards the place of reunion on the road, some people are looking for the so-called poetic and distant ideal state during the journey, and some people are starting a new year of life on the way.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the number of passengers transported by railways across the country reached 18.733 million, a record high in history. What does this number mean? It means that at that specific moment, more than 10 million people were traveling on the road at the same time, and they were carried by trains like steel dragons at the same time, heading towards their respective destinations.
write at the end
As of February 25, during the Spring Festival travel period, a total of 363 million train tickets had been sold, and the cumulative number of passengers sent exceeded 300 million.
The numbers are still rising.
People are still on the way.
Are you one of those one in 300 million? Did you grab your ticket in advance or get it through a waitlist? Did you take the high-speed rail during the day, not a late-night train? Is the person sitting next to you a sleeping stranger, or a returnee with the same excitement?
It doesn't matter anymore.
What matters is that you get on board.
The point is that in China, which is in such a state of flux, every time you start your journey, you will have more confidence; every time you successfully arrive, you will also have a warmer feeling.
On the moving train, some people were laughing, some were looking out the window at the night, and others had already fallen asleep, dreaming of the old locust tree in front of their house, which had sprouted new buds this year.
In the Spring Festival of 2026, you are one in 300 million. And your story is on the way.
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