China’s train ticket reservation system crashed these past few days, as millions tried to buy tickets for the upcoming May Day holiday. Denied a family reunion during the major holidays of late, today’s most popular online slogan has become, “It’s too hard to go home”.
过去几天，随着数百万人试图购买即将到来的五一假期的火车票，中国的火车票预订系统崩溃了。最近重大节日无法与家人团聚，如今最流行的网络口号变成了“回家太难了”。
This May Day holiday in China is a long one. With 5 days to themselves, many people in China are rubbing their hands with glee in their excitement.
中国的这个五一假期是一个漫长的假期。只剩下五天了，许多中国人兴奋得搓着手。
Train tickets for the holiday went on sale this past Saturday, 17 April. Many could not even wait until then, as a large number of netizens found the China Railways official app, 12306, to already be in trouble the day before. They were trying to score a ticket for 30 April, in order to beat the rush.
4 月 17 日星期六，假期火车票开始发售。很多人甚至等不及了，因为大量网友发现中国铁路官方应用程序12306在前一天就已经出问题了。他们试图抢到 4 月 30 日的门票，以避开高峰期。
For many though, it was in vain. Users found they could not receive the verification code or submit their order. Others couldn’t log in at all.
但对许多人来说，这是徒劳的。用户发现无法接收验证码或提交订单。其他人根本无法登录。
On Saturday afternoon, customer service staff at 12306 confirmed that the app had crashed, with 8:00 to 11:00 on 16 April representing the down time peak. The system returned to normal soon after.
周六下午，12306客服人员证实该应用出现崩溃，其中4月16日8:00至11:00为宕机高峰。系统很快就恢复正常。
At present, Xi’an, Changsha, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Chengdu are the five most popular train ticket destinations for 30 April. The five cities which will see the greatest number of departing trains are Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and our very own Nanjing.
目前，西安、长沙、武汉、重庆、成都是4月30日火车票最热门的五个目的地。发车数量最多的五个城市是北京、成都、广州、深圳和我们南京。
As of this afternoon, The Nanjinger was not able to find a ticket for any class of travel on a high-speed train from Nanjing to Wuhan on 30 April. Sourcing a ticket from Nanjing to Changsha wasn’t much better, with only 1 ticket available on a handful of trains.
截至今天下午，《南京人》尚未找到4月30日南京至武汉高铁任何舱位的车票。购买从南京到长沙的车票也好不了多少，少数几趟车次只有一张车票。
In the air, economy-class flights between Beijing and hot destination, Sanya, on 30 April and 1 May, are sold out. Only business-class tickets with prices in the tens of thousands of renminbi are available, reported Sohu.
空中方面，4月30日至5月1日北京至热门目的地三亚的经济舱航班已售罄。据搜狐报道，目前仅提供商务舱机票，价格在数万元人民币左右。
Not that economy-class tickets are that cheap either. According to multiple sources, the cheapest tickets for the holiday period are anywhere between 20 and 50 percent more expensive that in 2019.
经济舱机票也不是那么便宜。据多个消息来源称，假期期间最便宜的机票比 2019 年贵 20% 至 50%。
At a press conference on 16 April held by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), a representative said that the 5-day holiday will fully release the air-transport demand suppressed in the early stages [of the epidemic].
4月16日，中国民航局召开新闻发布会，相关负责人表示，5天假期将充分释放前期被压抑的航空运输需求。
According to its forecast for domestic travel consumption during the holiday, major travel portal, Ctrip, confirmed that by 15 April, orders for air tickets, hotels, entrance tickets and car rentals were up by 23, 43, 114 and 126 percent respectively, over the same period in 2019.
各大旅游门户网站携程网对长假期间国内旅游消费的预测显示，截至4月15日，机票、酒店、门票、租车订单较2019年同期分别增长23%、43%、114%和126%。
So where to not go this May Day holiday?
那么五一假期哪里不可以去呢？
Big data revealed by Ctrip has also broken down the top ten spots for which tickets have been purchased for the May Day holiday:
携程大数据还细分了五一假期已购票前十名的景点：
- Shanghai Disneyland
- Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum (Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi’an)
- Guangzhou Changlong Wildlife World
- Zhuhai Changlong Ocean Kingdom
- Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base
- Beihai Weizhou Island
- Luoyang Longmen Grottoes
- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
- Hengdian Film and Television City
As a whole, the number of pre-purchased, scenic-spot tickets is already more than double that of the same period in 2019. It is predicted that such explosive growth shall continue over the next 2 weeks.
整体来看，景区门票预购数量已是2019年同期的两倍以上，预计未来两周仍将持续爆发式增长。
But epidemic prevention remains top of mind for the authorities. CAAC has urged passengers to avoid travelling on the first and last days of the holiday and to try to utilise contact-less methods of checking in for their flight.
但防疫仍然是当局的首要任务。民航局已敦促旅客避免在假期的第一天和最后一天出行，并尝试使用非接触式办理航班登机手续。
Meanwhile, Wu Zunyou, Chief Epidemiologist for the China Centre for Disease Control, has said people should always bear in mind that epidemic prevention and control cannot be relaxed. Wu reminded to continue to implement personal measures for prevention and control; wear masks, keep social distance, wash hands and ventilate spaces frequently.
与此同时，中国疾控中心首席流行病学家吴尊友表示，要时刻牢记疫情防控不能放松。吴提醒继续落实个人防控措施；戴口罩、保持社交距离、勤洗手、保持空间通风。
