The winter vacation is coming, but what should be a pleasant trip home for students can be a challenging journey - they need to buy plane, coach or train tickets during chunyun period, the 40-day travel rush around Spring Festival。
尽管寒假近在眼前，但对于学生来说，本应舒舒服服的返乡途却并非一帆风顺。他们需要在长达40天的春运期间买到回家的飞机票、汽车票或火车票。
In order to make the journey easier, 21st Century has compiled the following tips and advice on how to book tickets。
为了让你轻松踏上返乡路，《二十一世纪英文报》特别收集了一些订票技巧和建议。
Train tickets
火车票
According to China Railway, more than 257.8 million passengers are expected to travel by rail during this year’s chunyun. Most of them are college students on their winter vacation and migrant workers returning home for the Chinese New Year celebrations. But students have a huge advantage in this competition to get home because they can book train tickets long before workers do。
铁道部称今年春运期间乘客将超2.578亿人次，“春运大军”中大多数都是放寒假的大学生以及回家过年的外来农民工。不过学生在这场订票大战中占有绝对优势，因为他们可以比务工人员提前订票。
Plane tickets
飞机票
Apart from the train, students can also go home by air. There are some cheap flight tickets available for them. China Southern Airlines, for example, offers a special discount for full-time students. As long as they register online and provide a valid student card, they can buy flight tickets that are up to 55 percent cheaper than the original price. Since discount flight tickets can be as cheap as train tickets, the airline company recommends students book at least 20 days before the travel date。
除了火车，学生还可以选择乘飞机回家。如今各大航空公司也纷纷推出相对便宜的学生票。例如中国南方航空就为全日制学生提供了特惠折扣。只需在网上注册一下，出示有效学生证便可以买到最高4.5折的机票。因为这些打折机票和火车票一样便宜，所以航空公司建议学生至少应提前20天订票。
Tips on booking
订票小窍门
1. Book tickets for a trip that’s longer than the one you are actually on。
1.“曲线救国”：如果你是中短途的旅客，可以尝试购买途经你家乡的长途车票。
2. Divide your trip into two parts. For example, if tickets between Hohhot and Yinchuan are sold out, book tickets from Hohhot to Wuyuan and then from Wuyuan to Yinchuan。
2. 分段购票。举个例子，如果呼和浩特到银川的车票已售完，那么你就可以先买从呼和浩特到婺源的票，再订一张从婺源到银川的车票。
3. Book a connection ticket if non-stop tickets are not available. To get a student discount, tell the staff that they are joint trip tickets。
3. 如果直达列车票售罄了，那就改买联程车票吧。告诉售票员，你是分段购买的全程票，这样才能享受到学生优惠。
4. Seize the last opportunity. There may be some leftover or returned tickets available a few days before the departure date. Check online at 12 pm (noon)， 1 pm, and from 6-8 pm。
4. “最后一搏”。在发车前几天可能还会有余票或是退票。中午12点、下午1点以及晚上6—8点这三个时段，记得上网查询余票信息。
