The largest annual migration on Earth is happening for Lunar New Year — these incredible photos show what the journey is like

Around the world, about 1.5 billion people — that's nearly one-fifth of the population — will celebrate two weeks of festivities that begin on Friday for Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival. In China alone, hundreds of millions of people who spend most of the year living in cities travel home to spend time with loved ones.

Together, they will make about 3 billion trips in a little over a month. It is the largest annual human migration.

Here's what it has looked like so far this year.

Hundreds of millions of people in China will travel home to see family and celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Nearly 3 billion trips will be made between February 1 and March 12, according to estimates.

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During this period, some people will travel back to their family's homes by car. But others will fly — China plans to schedule more than 30,000 additional flights.

But traveling by train remains popular. More than 390 million people will travel by rail this holiday period.

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Not all trips, however, will be fast. These travelers on a 26-hour train trip from Beijing to Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province.

There aren't enough seats for everyone, so some people have to stand for the journey.

But services and food options have improved over the years. This year, some travelers will be able to order fast food like KFC online, and train attendants will deliver it to their seat.

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Some lucky people can sleep in cabins.

But many sleep in their seats — or, like these men, in the restaurant car.

Others get some shut-eye at stations while they wait for connecting trains.

Temperatures in some parts of China have dropped below freezing, meaning travelers — particularly little ones — need to wrap up.

Travelers can have a lot of luggage, sometimes including traditional gifts and foods available only during the Spring Festival.

Though fireworks are also popular, Beijing banned their use in the city center this year in an effort to reduce air pollution and injuries.

This traveler was injured but found a train conductor willing to carry him.

Some of the queues are long.

Part of the reason for the mass migration is that millions of people who moved away from their villages to earn more money are returning home.

However, China's hukou system restricts the number of urban residency permits the government provides to migrant workers each year.

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But many rural migrants in urban don't have the same access to health, education or social services. Millions of children are left back home with their grandparents to attend school.

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But it's likely that some migrant workers in Beijing won't be able to return at the end of the holidays.

Since November, Beijing has evicted tens of thousands of residents, many of them migrant workers, and destroyed homes. In some cases, people were given no warning.

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While China has said the evictions are part of a safety campaign following a fire, many have decried them, and some see them as a plan to cut the population of six districts by about 2 million people by 2020.

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But for now, many people in China and elsewhere will enjoy meals and celebrations with their loved ones over the holidays.

The largest annual migration on Earth is happening for Lunar New Year — these incredible photos show what the journey is like

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