President Hu spends Spring Festival with Chinese public

Source: Xinhua | 01-28-2009 11:28

NANCHANG - President Hu Jintao spent his sixth consecutive Spring Festival, a major occasion for family reunions in China, with ordinary people instead of his family.

He visited railway staff and police on duty and ordinary people in eastern Jiangxi Province Monday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, to extend festival greetings.

Chinese President Hu Jintao(L2) shakes hands with a  policewoman on duty at the Kuaizixiang police station,  Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province, January 26, 2009.  [Xinhua]

At the Nanchang Railway Station Monday morning, Hu talked with passengers and ticket staff to check whether travelers had difficulty in buying tickets.

Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, began on January 26 this year. Tens of millions of people are on the move in a nationwide travel rush for the most celebrated Chinese festival in a year.

"You've been working hard. I hope you can think of more ways to help more passengers get tickets," the president told a sales clerk in the ticketing hall.

In the railway command center and on the platform, Hu inquired about passenger flow and transport schedules. He said he expected to see that railway authorities worked out efficient schedules, improved service and ensured safety.

With more than 600 million cell phone users in China making a huge number of calls during the festival, Hu went to the Jiangxi provincial branch of the China Mobile to inspect the company's operation, service and management.