Chinese holiday makers Monday began to return to their workplaces by train after days of family reunion, railway officials said.

The Ministry of Railways Monday reported dramatic increase in the numbers of passengers from Fuyang City in Anhui Province, east China, and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, southwest China, returning by train to Shanghai and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, south China.

Anhui and Sichuan are two of the country's major sources of migrant workers while Shanghai and Guangdong, the country's most developed areas, employ millions of migrant workers each year.

A total of 2.573 million passengers traveled by train Sunday, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, up 342,000 year-on-year, or 16 percent, said the ministry.

The average daily number of travelers by rail was 3.528 million people during the past 14 days of travel rush ending on Friday, the ministry said.

After the nationwide Spring Festival travel rush (known as the "Spring Transportation") began in earnest 14 days ago, more than 49 million people had negotiated Chinese railways by Friday, up 4.862 million from the previous year.

The Spring Festival, marking the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important annual event for family reunion, like Christmas to westerners.

The post-festival transportation will surge after Jan. 31, or the third day of the first month in the lunar calendar, and the ministry promised to work hard to handle the increasing number of travelers.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2006)