The nation's expanding electric vehicle charging network has enabled some EV drivers to breathe a sigh of relief during this year's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush period, allowing them to avoid excessive range anxiety and recharge while on the road with relatively more ease than in previous years.

The Spring Festival travel rush, referred to as chunyun in Chinese, runs from Jan 14 to Feb 22 this year, and is typically characterized by heavy traffic on major roads as people head home for Chinese New Year and then return to the places where they work afterward.

With many people driving hundreds if not thousands of kilometers during this time, fueling up along the way is essential. For petrol vehicles this is not much of a problem as China's sprawling expressway network is well served by rest areas with gas stations.

For EV drivers, however, long journeys, especially during peak travel times, have been a source of considerable anxiety. Unlike filling up a petrol vehicle, which takes just a couple of minutes, EVs require specialist charging infrastructure, and an average single charge can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

For petrol vehicle drivers, queuing behind three, four or even five cars to fuel up still only takes a matter of minutes, but for EV drivers in the same situation it could take hours before they are back on the road.

According to the Ministry of Transport, daily EV traffic on the nation's expressways has exceeded 6.8 million vehicles during the travel rush so far, a 60 percent increase from the previous year, with EVs making up approximately 17 percent of all expressway traffic.

The ministry said it has implemented various measures to enhance the charging efficiency for EV drivers during busy travel periods. As of November 2024, China had nearly 49,300 charging bays at its expressway service areas, an increase of 16,600 from the end of 2023. The percentage of expressway service areas with charging facilities has risen from 85 percent in 2023 to 97 percent.

For Wang Qiuxia, a native of Jining in East China's Shandong province who works in Chongqing in Southwest China, the difference on the road this year was clear. She and her husband, who drive their EV 1,500 kilometers home for the holidays every year, made the trip this time without the usual anxiety over charging.

"Now, charging is so convenient," Wang said. "The navigation system in our car alerts us to nearby stations and available charging spots. We stop when we're tired, and while we rest for about 40 minutes, the car gets enough charge for the next leg of the journey."

The journey between Chongqing and Jining can take them up to nearly 20 hours, including rest and charging stops, as well as the occasional traffic jam. In previous years, long wait times at charging stations were a frequent frustration. "Last year, there weren't as many charging stations," Wang said. "But now, it's much easier."