Throngs of passengers wait to board their trains at Hangzhou East Railway Station in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. China’s 40-day Lunar New Year travel rush began Monday. Photo: VCG

A worker inspects a bullet train Monday in Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province. Photo: IC Photo

A passenger sits on a train waiting to depart from Beijing West Railway Station on Monday. Photo: Jia Tianyong/China News Service, VCG

Train attendants stand ready to greet boarding passengers at Beijing West Railway Station. Photo: Jia Tianyong/China News Service, VCG

A robot sprays disinfectant at Beijing West Railway Station to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Photo: VCG

Passengers get tested for Covid-19 at a checkpoint at Beijing West Railway Station. Photo: VCG

A worker sits at a medical checkpoint Monday at the entrance of a train station in Harbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. The station requires passengers to present negative nucleic acid test results before they are allowed inside. Photo: The Paper

At Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province, police in protective suits inspect the travel documents and Covid-19 test results of passengers from areas deemed to be at high risk of Covid-19. Photo: VCG

A man rearranges his luggage Sunday outside Jinan Railway Station in Jinan, East China’s Shandong province. Photo: IC Photo

A man and child wait to board a train at Hangzhou East Railway Station. Photo: VCG

Bullet trains stand by Monday morning in Nanjing for the beginning of the travel rush. The country’s railways are expected to carry 280 million passengers over the period, said Li Wenxin, vice general manager of China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. Photo: VCG