Chinese Are Celebrating Lunar New Year by Escaping China

More than 6 million passengers are flying out of China during the weeklong holiday that begins January 28, mostly to nearby Asian countries like Japan and Thailand. Thousands of expatriates also travel to the country for celebrations of the traditional Lunar New Year with family. The vast majority, however, of the 414 million on the move – equivalent to the entire European Union – will travel domestically. China is the world’s third largest country by area, and the holiday is “the biggest mass migration of people on Earth,” reports Bloomberg. Demand for international travel has skyrocketed in recent years, primarily due to rising disposable income. Many countries are actively responding to the waves of Chinese tourists and their cash. Despite tensions that repeatedly flare over Sino-Japanese history, Chinese tourists shop en masse in Japan and comprise the largest share of visitors to the country, enjoying “multiple-year, multiple-entry visas.” – YaleGlobal