BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- China kicked off Spring Festival travel season on Thursday with lowered expectations of passenger flows as the country tightens measures to curb the COVID-19 resurgence. The travel rush lasts from Jan. 28 to March 8 this year.

The 40-day travel peak is expected to see around 1.7 billion passenger trips, up about 10 percent year on year, but more than 40 percent lower than that of 2019, the Ministry of Transport has said.

To curb the spread of the coronavirus during the holiday period, China issued a plan to reduce mass gatherings and strengthen epidemic control, with measures such as advocating off-peak travel and encouraging people to stay put during the holiday.