BEIJING: Before Chinese New Year last year, Shandong native Chen Yun was part of a massive migrant workforce in Beijing that was racing to complete the construction of the city's Olympic venues.

Paid about 1,000 yuan (S$215) a month and earning extra by clocking overtime, the 30-year-old welder ruled out heading home for the annual holiday then. This year, however, Mr Chen was among scores of early-bird travellers who waited for hours at the Beijing West Railway station to buy a ticket home in advance.

'After the Olympics, work dried up. I tried looking for other jobs but found nothing. Since I'm free, I'll head home early for the holidays,' Mr Chen told The Straits Times on Tuesday. He was hoping to take next Thursday's sleeper train to Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

China's annual, massive homeward migration before the Chinese New Year holiday is under way earlier than usual this year, and the number of travellers looks set to hit a record high.

In previous years, the Chinese New Year travel rush typically begins 11 days prior to the start of China's most important festival, which falls on Jan 26 this year. It is the only time when China's 120 million migrant labourers can head home.

This year, data from the transportation authorities reveals a gradual but marked increase in passenger flow starting late last month, about a month in advance of the usual rush.

Beijing West Railway Station, for example, logged 130,000 departure passengers on Jan 1, 38,000 more travellers than its daily average, said the station authority.

In total, passengers will make 2.32 billion journeys over this Chinese New Year period, an increase of 3.5 per cent from last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency.

The Railway Ministry expects 188 million people to travel by train, up 8 per cent from last year. A further two billion road trips will be made, while 24 million will travel by plane.

This year's heavier and earlier-than- usual travel surge is mainly due to the economic slump and job losses among the migrant worker population, said experts.

'Incomes are not ideal, factory orders are down and many manufacturing and export companies in the south are asking workers to take early vacations,' said Mr Zheng Zizhen, a researcher with the Guangdong Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 'In previous years, when the factories were busy with orders...Workers could only go at a certain time and had to return by a certain time because of work. Now, they are not restricted by work so the travel pattern has changed.'

The slowdown in China's labour-intensive manufacturing and export sectors has made 10 million migrant labourers redundant, according to estimates. Reports have said that 7.8 million have returned to their hometowns.

The flood back home to spend the new year began as early as late October last year and will last for much longer this year, said Mr Zheng.

'Many of these migrant labourers have a wait-and-see attitude. Many who cannot find work may have decided to go home first and hope that with the new year, new jobs will come,' he said.

This year's early travel surge is also due, in part, to the timing of the festival. In previous years, it had always fallen in February, according to the Lunar calendar. This means that on top of migrant workers heading home, college students whose vacations begin this month will also be travelling at the same time.

Another factor, said analysts, was last year's disastrous snowstorms in southern China which prevented or delayed the homeward trips of some 13 million people, most of them migrant workers. Many who could not rejoin their families last year are eager to go home this year.

To deal with the surge, the railway authorities have added trains, stepped up security and opened more ticket booths at major stations to handle the flood of passengers, state media reported.

Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou are the busiest transportation hubs during this period. At Beijing West Railway station, police patrolled the main hall where hundreds queued for tickets.

While eager to get home, some were unsure when they would be back.

Said Mr Chen: 'One reason for going home is also to ask my friends and fellow villagers if they have any contacts for a job. If I find something elsewhere, I won't be back to Beijing.'

tracyq@sph.com.sg

See report 'China to grads: Opt for 'grassroots' jobs'