Passengers, mostly migrant workers, pack up to travel back home for family reunions for the upcoming Lunar New Year.[Photo by Rao Guojun/China Daily]

What's believed to be the world's largest annual migration is taking place in China, as hundreds of millions travel from the cities where they live or work to their rural villages to celebrate the Spring Festival. The holiday is viewed as the most important time for family reunions. About 2.8 billion trips are expected nationwide during the 40-day travel rush, which began on Feb 4. That's a 3.4 percent increase over last year, official figures show. Armed police have been assigned to Beijing West Railway Station to ensure safety in packed waiting rooms.

The municipality has added 34 temporary trains to transport the expected 55.4 million passengers, the local rail bureau says. While rail is the primary transportation means for most holiday travelers, 300,000 migrant workers in Guangdong province will journey home on two wheels. They'll ride motorcycles about 1,000 kilometers to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Hunan, Gui-zhou and Yunnan provinces.