It's hard to believe, but the annual Spring Festival Travel Rush is just a month away now. While the Year of the Rooster officially begins on January 28th, millions of Chinese will be heading home for the festivities well in advance of this date. In fact, some 2.97 billion journeys are expected to be made over a 40-day period, beginning on January 13th. The number includes journeys being made by plane, road, rail and even on water.

40-day travel rush period begins on January 13 [File photo/Xinhua]

More than 350 million rail journeys are expected to be made during the rush -- that's about a ten percent increase on last year. To cope with the extra demand and to boost efficiency, the state-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation is to add some 2,500 trains to its network. It will also simplify the process of purchasing tickets and will offer a better customer experience.