Beijing, Jan. 22 (BNA): China called in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with its people praying for health after three years of stress and financial hardship under the pandemic.
Queues stretched for 1 kilometer (half a mile) outside Beijing’s iconic Lama Temple that was repeatedly closed before COVID-19 restrictions ended in early December, as thousands of people wait their turn to pray for their loved ones, Reuters reported.
A Beijing resident said she wished the Year of the Rabbit would bring “health to all”.
It is estimated that some 110 million railway passenger trips were made during January 7-21, the first 15 days of the 40-day travel peak in the Lunar New Year, up 28% year-on-year, People’s Daily, newspaper Communist Party official, reported.
A total of 26.23 million trips were made on Lunar New Year’s Eve via railways, highways, ships and planes, half of pre-pandemic levels, but up 50.8% from last year, state-run CCTV reported.
MI