A close look at the Spring Festival rush on rail

As the annual Spring Festival holiday rush approaches, millions of homebound passengers are flocking to the rails for travel. China Daily website will present readers some things often spotted among train travelers:

Instant noodles

It is a Japanese invention, but the biggest market for instant noodles is China. Chinese people consumed 98.2 billion packages of instant noodles in 2012, about half of the world's consumption, according to Koki Ando, chairman of the World Instant Noodles Association. A large part of Chinese consumption is made by train travelers.

A passenger holding a bowl of instant noodles walks through a crowded passage on a train heading from Beijing to southwestern Chengdu on Jan 8, 2013. [Photo by Kele/CFP]

Passengers enjoy some instant noodles while waiting at Changsha Railway Station in Central China’s Hunan province on Jan 11, 2013. [Photo by Guo Liliang/CFP]

A mother feeds instant noodles to her child at Kunming Railway Station in Southwest China’s Yunnan province on Jan 16, 2013. [Photo by Long Yuzhou/CFP]