English Chinese translation case study: Chunyun

The Chinese Lunar New Year / Spring Festival is drawing near, most Chinese people are heading back home during this traditional Chunyun period. To most English Chinese translation pros, ‘Chunyun’ may not be a great translation for the peak transport during the Spring Festival travel season. But to anyone who are interested in the Chinese culture or the Chinese society, ‘Chunyun’ is a great point to get started. The following paragraph is an introduction of the Chinese ‘Chunyun’ with English Chinese translation shared by Top Chinese Translator.

Chunyun is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The period usually begins 15 days before the Lunar New Year’s Day and lasts for around 40 days. The number of passenger journeys during the Chunyun period has exceeded the population of China, hitting over 2.5 billion even in 2010. It has been called the largest annual human migration in the world. Rail transport experiences the biggest challenge during the period, and myriad social problems emerged.

春运，是中国在春节前后发生大规模的高交通运输现象的一段时期。春运时期通常在农历新年前15天开始，持续40天左右。早在2010年春运期间，乘客数量就超过了中国人口总数，达到了25亿人次。春运因此也被誉为人类历史上规模最大的、周期性的人类大迁徙。春运是铁道部门需要经历的最大挑战，没有“之一”；同时，大量的社会问题也会在这期间涌现。

As is known to all English Chinese translators, glossary is always an important part in English Chinese translation. Translators have to define the translation of glossary so as to keep consistency in the whole translation. Thus Top Chinese Translator would like to share some other English Chinese translation resources regarding the Chinese Chunyun period, say, some high frequency words and phrases:

local train慢车

direct train直快

special express特快

bullet train动车

high-speed rail 高铁

hard seat 硬座

soft seat 软座

cushioned berth 软卧

semi-cushioned berth 硬卧
upper berth/ sleeper 上铺

middle berth / sleeper 中铺

lower berth /sleeper 下铺
car attendant/train attendant列车员

guard/conductor列车长

dispatcher 调度员

volume of passenger transport 客运量

peak time for passenger transport 客流高峰期

operate/arrange extra trains 加开列车

24-hour ticket sales windows 24小时售票窗口

group ticket-booking 集体预定火车票

regulate ticket sale 规范售票

crack down on scalpers 打击票贩子

Offering high-quality and professional English Chinese translation services has been the prime goal since the founding day of Top Chinese Translator. We are open for all correction and suggestions. In case you need any English Chinese translation services or want to discuss more on translation, please do not hesitate to contact us.