This year's rush comes as health authorities raised alerts on another possible outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and ordered checks at major travel points and the disinfecting of travel hubs and vehicles.

Teams of migrant workers were seen converging on Beijing rail and bus stations as airlines and travel agencies were besieged with requests for plane reservations.

On Monday, the government formally announced the travel season would run from January 7 to February 15.

It called on transport and law enforcement workers to "treat the traveller like a king" and ensure the mass movement goes smoothly and without any major accidents or social disturbances.

The season is usually marked by a endless stream of fatal transport accidents which take the lives of thousands of people.

Officials at the national meeting on Spring Festival travel said some 1.89 billion trips would be taken on trains, planes, buses, cars and boats during the 40 days, over 60 million more trips than last year's record travel surge.

"All responsible departments must strengthen administration on travel fees and implement work according to law..., everything must be done to lighten the burden of work units and ordinary people," Ou Xinjin, Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the meeting.

"All unregulated practices must be rectified, outlandish price rises during the festival must be prohibited as well the practice of chaotically levying fees and collecting fines."

Twenty-five years of unprecedented economic reform have led to widespread travel across the nation with trains and planes normally packed full and a new network of national highways facilitating an increase in long-distance bus traffic.

With this year's festival formally beginning on January 22, travel is expected to peak in the five days before the start and for some five days following the traditionally four-day long repast.

China's schools begin their winter holiday on Thursday and a flood of college students are expected to begin their journeys home over the coming weekend.

The extension of the travel season to 40 days has resulted from policies aimed at staggering the rush of migrant workers, and as low income travellers try to avoid price rises that are expected to intensify across the range of travel modes by January 15, state press reports said.

TERRA.WIRE