美国有线新闻 CNN 中国将迎猪年 春运拉开大帷幕（在线收听）

Which of these animals is not featured on the Chinese Zodiac, an astrological calendar cycle? Ox, Bear, Pig or Rooster. The animals that repeat every 12 years in the Chinese zodiac do not include a bear.

But they do include the pig and February 5th is when the year of the pig begins, it's also year 4717 on the Chinese calendar. The Lunar New Year is a massive celebration for China. People travel hundreds of thousands of miles to be with their families. And because the country's population is nearly 1 billion 400,000, the holiday triggers what'????s known as the largest annual human migration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 2019 may be the year of the pig but like every Lunar New Year, it's also the year of the crush during a 40 day period leading up to and after the Lunar holiday, and the rush is already underway. More than 400 million Chinese holiday travelers will take the train. Over the 15 days of the festival itself, from February 5th to February 19th, rail authorities are bracing for a near 9 percent increase on last years numbers. That works out at more than 9.5 million in passengers a day.

Some 73 million people are expected to choose air travel. That means there will be about 15,600 planes in the sky everyday of the holiday. But the road remains the most popular way of traveling, mostly by bus during the Lunar New Year period.

A more enjoyable holiday tradition is the Zigong Lantern Festival which runs until March 1st. Some of the lanterns are up to 22 meters tall. It's a blaze of color and imagination with birds, fish and of course pigs lighting up the dark winter nights. The festival dates from the Tang Dynasty around 618 A.D.