What's the buzz

As the Spring Festival draws near, the race to secure railway tickets for the peak travel period has become so white hot that getting a ticket was compared to the monk Xuanzang's odyssey to fetch scriptures from the West. Have you secured your ticket back home? China Daily's mobile phone news readers share their views:

Thank goodness I have already got a ticket. I recommend that everyone should use his or her smartphone because it is faster. Before the tickets went on sale, I calculated which day I should buy my ticket, checked the train times and times when the tickets would be on sale, and was ready to grab a ticket immediately they went on sale. Even so, there were few tickets left and I was a little lucky to get one. Hopefully all readers got the ticket they wanted, and the government can make greater efforts to make it easier for people to go back during the Spring Festival holiday.

PHILIP, Wuhan, Hubei province

Although I logged on to the online ticket booking system and waited in front of my computer, even before I was able to submit my order I found there were no tickets left. Later I heard on the news that ticket scalpers had used shortcuts to grab many of the tickets. I tried my luck at ticket agencies but was told my ticket was sold-out when it was my turn.

GUOMINGRUI, Beijing

Although I did not succeed in buying a train ticket during the Spring Festival travel peak, I still feel at ease. As a migrant worker, I worked out the date we would have to buy tickets with my fellow workers and queued up in the train station very early that day. However, no matter how early we waited we could not beat the Internet and all tickets we wanted were sold out. At first, we were very upset, but our boss comforted us and promised to send us home after knowing our predicament. My boss' generosity is indeed very touching and warm-hearted.

YUNYOU, Nanjing, Jiangsu province

It is relatively convenient and easy for students to buy a train ticket since they can do it earlier than office workers. Now with the prevalence of Internet access, it seems easier to buy tickets on the website, but it is still quit difficult for migrant workers, who are the majority of those using the railways during the Spring Festival travel peak. I feel sorry and sad every time I pass by a train station and see them carrying lots of luggage, queuing up at the platform and holding a standing ticket. Netizens have been calling for a discount for standing tickets, yet such a proposal has not been adopted so far.

SHUI, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region

Since I graduated seven years ago, each Spring Festival I have worried about getting a train ticket back home. I found it particularly difficult to buy one this year, even though I tried booking via telephone and the official website and even asked my colleagues to help me when I saw there were still tickets left on the Internet. But I was still unable to get one. It bothers me a lot, why it is still so difficult even after more trains have been arranged.

PIN, Shanghai

I was very lucky and able to buy a train ticket. Here are some tips. First, you can select which trains you want and see how many tickets there are for them several days in advance. Also, pay attention to temporary trains that sell tickets 25 days in advance. When it is difficult to buy non-stop trains, try changing trains at junctions. Finally, if you fail to browse on the official ticket booking website, you will have no trouble doing so on the mobile phone app.

A READER, Beijing