Lunar New Year might still be two weeks away, but China is already bracing itself for an annual homecoming of epic proportions.

Considered the largest human migration on the planet, Chunyun -- the 40-day period when Chinese people head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year Spring Festival with their families -- officially began on January 10 and will end on February 18.

Lunar New Year falls on January 25 this year -- the earliest LNY since 2012.

This means that the beginning of Spring Festival rush, when workers begin their journey home, will overlap with the peak time when college students begin winter holidays, putting an even bigger strain on the nation's infrastructure.

Some 3 billion trips are expected to be made during the 2020 Chunyun period, a slight increase from last year's figure (2.99 billion trips).

Of those, 2.43 billion trips will be made by automobile (1.2% fewer than last year), 440 million by rail (a rise of 8%), 79 million by air (an 8.4% increase) and 45 million by sea (a 9.6% increase).

These figures are indeed staggering. But fret not, China has already planned ahead.

On Thursday, a day before Chunyun officially began, China's State Council Information Office hosted a joint press conference with seven departments including the National Development and Resort Commission and the Ministry of Transport to announce this year's stats and the special measures taken for this year's Spring Festival rush. (CNN)

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