By Li Hongmei  

China was gearing up yesterday for the peak period of the world's largest annual human migration as the Spring Festival holiday draws near.

Hundreds of millions of migrant workers will return to their hometowns before the Chinese New Year, which falls this year on January 31.

"The country's transport system will witness the busiest time in the next days, as a vast number of people rush home," Xinhua news agency said in a report yesterday.

The number of road passengers reached 92.63 million on Friday, making a total of 772 million since January 16, up 4.4 percent from last year, Xinhua said, citing Ministry of Transport figures.

Transport officials predict China's population will make 3.62 billion trips during the Chinese New Year period.

"The idea of the Spring Festival is to spend time with family, wrap dumplings, and watch the Spring Festival Gala," a man surnamed Sun said at Beijing Railway Station.