China is expected to see 9 billion passenger trips during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush this year, setting a new record for the biggest annual human migration on earth.

The travel rush will begin on Jan 26 and end on March 5.

According to Li Yang, vice-transport minister, of the total trips, over 1.8 billion are expected to be made via public transport. He made the remarks at a news conference on Tuesday in Beijing. The remaining 7.2 billion trips will be made by cars, so the number of driving trips is expected to reach a historic high as well.